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engineeRing + diplOmacy = ADvENTuRE we saw each other. You really appreciated being together, because you knew that in a couple of weeks you had to go somewhere else.” REpRESENTING ThE NATION In their overseas posts, the security engineer’s duties extend beyond the engineering realm, says Monique. “When we are overseas, we are considered diplomats,” she says. “We have diplomatic passports. We are members of the Foreign Service.” “We not only have to do our jobs overseas, but we also represent America,” adds Rahim. “People look at us as Americans, regardless of what our job title is.” Being African-American diplomats representing the U.S. Government raised more than a few eyebrows in Africa, say the Theriots. “In a lot of cases, when you deal with the locals inside the country, they never thought of minorities being in diplomatic status,” says Monique. “They would say, ‘You’re a diplomat for the U.S. Embassy? Really? And you’re black?’ They’re so used to that being a white man’s job.” It is, in fact, a challenging job, and not what either of the Theriots had expected when they were earning their electrical engineering degrees, he at the University of New Orleans and she at North Carolina State University. “The part I like the best are the friendships and relationships that you develop over time, and the diversity of those friendships.” says Monique. “This job enables you to not only work in the engineering field, but also allows you a different lifestyle,” says Rahim. “… You can say you’ve stepped outside of the usual engineering box.” When not on overseas assignments, Rahim and Monique Theriot work in DS’s Countermeasures Program Division in suburban Washington, D.C. DS is now recruiting security engineering officers. To learn more about careers with DS, go to www.state.gov/m/ds/career/index.htm, send an e-mail to dsrecruitment@state.gov, or call the DS Recruitment Hotline, (571) 345-3783. ■ David Bates works in the Diplomatic Security Office of Public Affairs. • career engineer • fall 2009 • 67 (Left to right) Diplomatic Security Engineers Rahim and Monique Theriot and an elephant handler enjoy a safari near Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, June 2008. CoNtiNued from Page 65 infiltrate our buildings,” explains Rahim. “We also ensure that classified information stays classified through technical means. We make sure that systems are in place so that no one can hack into our computer systems and that classified information does not leave that building.” ASSIGNmENT: AFRICA In their first overseas assignment as a married couple, Monique and Rahim were posted to the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa. From there, they worked to ensure that physical and cyber security systems were working properly at U.S. diplomatic posts throughout Africa. Rahim and a team of technical security personnel often traveled overland to U.S. embassies and consulates in neighboring countries to maintain, repair or install security systems, such as closedcircuit television cameras, emergencynotification systems, imminent danger notification (duck-and-cover) systems, vehicle barriers and “hard-line” doors. “It was a 40 plus-hour week, because I was in charge of all the technical systems at the embassy,” he says. As a regional computer security officer, Monique was responsible for certifying cyber security systems and processes at U.S. diplomatic posts throughout the www.nsbe.org entire continent and spent a good deal of their two-year assignment flying to countries throughout Africa. “It’s a very self-driven kind of position,” she says. “For the most part, I was able to set my own travel schedule. And as long as I was writing my reports and getting my data back on time, there was not a lot of oversight of that position. It allowed me a lot of flexibility.” Monique advises potential security engineer candidates that they should be prepared to do extensive traveling in the course of their work. During their tour of duty in South Africa, she traveled to Angola, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Mozambique, Swaziland, Uganda, Burundi and the island nation of Mauritius. Rahim’s duties took him to U.S. diplomatic facilities in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique. Although they were posted to Pretoria as a couple, their travels kept them away from home — and each other — at least half of the time they lived in South Africa. “Sometimes we’d see each other in the airport. She’d be getting off the plane, and I’d be getting on the plane. Sometimes we would go to the airport together and be going to two different places,” says Rahim. “It was like a new beginning every time Photo courtesy of Rahim and Monique Theriot

NSBE - Fall 2009

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