USF Alum Wins Competitive Congressional Fellowship
Troy Ware '07
The CBCF Fellowship Program was created to increase the number of African Americans working as U.S. Congress staff and to provide public policy training and exposure to young African American professionals. Participants spend nine months working in a Congressional office, followed by an optional three-month placement with a Congressional committee, federal agency, or public policy nonprofit.
Representative Alcee L. Hastings (D-Florida) is sponsoring the first portion of Ware's fellowship. Ware will be working with other members of Hasting's staff on the Helsinki Commission. The commission focuses on human rights, economic development and trade, and security, and assists in ensuring that the U.S. fulfills its obligations as a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
"I am interested in every aspect of the commission's work so I am very excited," Ware said.
After working on the commission, Ware will be assigned to a committee of the House of Representatives. He has expressed interest in either the Judiciary Committee or the Ways and Means Committee.
In addition to preparing and presenting reports on the right to vote at U.N. Human Rights Council meetings, Ware interned at the United States Attorney’s Office in San Francisco and for law firms in Thailand and China while a student at USF. A number of USF classes, including Constitutional Law, International Human Rights Law, and the International Human Rights Clinic, piqued Ware's interest in working for a legislative body after law school.
"I have always been interested in the policy behind law," Ware said. "With that in mind, a legislature is a great place to observe how policy goals become law."
