Professors Geeta Pasi and Mike Hendricks worked with the American Academy of Diplomacy to organize a visit between retired U.S. Ambassador Luis Arreaga and Politics and Government students on Monday, February 26. Arreaga met with Dr. Hendricks’ students in Drug Trafficking and International Security and Latin American Politics, Professor Pasi’s students in U.S. Foreign Policy and Diplomatic Practice, and students in the department’s Pi Sigma Alpha’s Kappa Sigma chapter, the Latin American and Latino Studies Program, and the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures.
Arreaga held the following diplomatic appointments during his distinguished foreign service career: ambassador to Iceland (2010-13); ambassador to Guatemala (2017-20); deputy assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs; deputy chief of mission at the United States Embassy in Panama; U.S. consul general in Vancouver, Canada; director of the executive secretariat staff at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C.; deputy director of the State Department’s Operations Center; and special assistant to the under secretary for political affairs. Arreaga’s other overseas postings included: United States mission to the United Nations in Geneva; the United States Embassy in Spain; and the Agency for International Development in Peru, El Salvador, and Honduras. Arreaga was born and raised in Guatemala before immigrating to the United States. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee where he received a Ph.D. in economics and a master’s degree in management.
Arreaga tied his diplomatic experiences to course topics that provided students his practical experiences working on some of the most challenging problems facing foreign and national security interests. Arreaga’s approach helped bridge the gap between theory and practice, making the courses’ content more accessible, interesting, and applicable to the real world. It also provided students with valuable perspectives that can enrich their educational journey and discover unique career pathways once they graduate.
