The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir

by Samantha Power

My twenty-four-year-old scheduler, Megan Koilparampil, took full ownership of this effort. She had read “A Problem from Hell” after college, and during her job interview, she made clear that her interest in atrocity prevention drew her to the position. She understood that the operations work she and others in the US Mission did—scheduling, logistics, and event or trip planning—was every bit as important as the work our diplomats did negotiating through the night. Indeed, the operations team had mugs made with the acronym “GSD” (for “Get Shit Done”) on the side. Megan devoured the task of scheduling courtesy calls. Some of the people who answered at the offices I hoped to visit did not speak English, so Megan canvassed our team to find people with the necessary language skills. At the small, understaffed missions, days of attempts were sometimes required before someone answered the phone. Often, it was the ambassador who eventually picked up. When I had concluded my visit to a foreign colleague’s office, very often he or she would bid me farewell with a request to “say hi to Megan.” On occasion, when urging a country to take a tough vote, I would invoke the person they would least want to disappoint. “I am really counting on you,” I would say. “And so is Megan.”

Haha. Omg