Ambassador's Blog Post Prompts Chatter Among Swarthmore Diplomats, Others
![A courtyard at the Scott Arboretum.](/sites/default/files/styles/main_page_image/public/assets/images/news-events/courtyard.jpg.webp?itok=cz5i5KQd)
A blog post and subsequent tweet promoting it by U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa David Huebner recently sparked some fun online chatter, especially among Swarthmore members of the diplomatic corps. Huebner, a Pennsylvania native, extolled Swarthmore as a "liberal arts powerhouse" that is a good fit for international students. "To me," he wrote, "the defining characteristics of Swarthmore are small size, huge reputation, academic excellence, and intense community spirit."
In response, Michael Corbin '82, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, retweeted the post, noting "my college!" This then prompted Wren Elhai '08, U.S. diplomat in Moscow, to wonder "Highest Ambo/student ratio in the U.S.?"
For the moment, the last word goes to Sera Seojin Jeong '14, a sociology and anthropology major from Auckland, who replied directly to the post:
"Rigorous, beautiful, challenging and stimulating, Swarthmore is a small but almost perfectly formed college that gives students a fulfilling, formative four years. Although I miss home sometimes, I have no regrets leaving NZ and settling at Swat. Thanks for the great write up about my college!"