Terence Todman's Argumentative Essay

Tú me entiendes? Do you understand me, my friend says jokingly. Sí, y no deberías juzgar por apariencia. Yes, and you shouldn’t judge by appearances, I reply. I don’t look like the type of person who would speak Spanish; though, I am fluent in the language. When I tell people this fact they tend not to believe me, and doubt my capability due to my appearance. I have always been inspired by American ambassador Terence Todman. He detested how most African Americans in foreign affairs were being assigned to Caribbean or African nations; however, he did not follow the status quo and in 1971 was appointed to be the ambassador to Costa Rica, the first African American ever to be appointed in a Spanish speaking country. Todman inspires me because

He was a native to the U.S. Virgin Islands, fought in World War II, and was stationed in Japan during the war. His valiant service overseas fueled his interest in international affairs, and after the war he studied at New York’s Syracuse University. He passed all of his exams for the State Department, but was originally turned away on the grounds that a personal officer did not think he identified as American. However, this did not stop him and he was hired anyways starting his career in embassies in Africa and East Asia. Six years after he started his career Todman was appointed to ambassador to Costa Rica, he later helped broker deals concerning the Panama Canal Treaty, and helped develop landmark agreements between the U.S. and Cuba regarding fishing and maritime interests. He was later promoted to be the ambassador to Spain, and was asked to be the ambassador South Africa, but Todman stuck to his merits and could not accept the job because he could not support the U.S.’s stance on apartheid. In 1989 Todman was promoted to career ambassador, the State Department’s highest rank. Ambassador Todman was awarded by the governments of Argentina, Denmark, Spain, Chad and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and additiontionally was honored by receiving the U.S. Department of State's Director General’s