Khalil Kilani ’21 receives prestigious Rangel Fellowship, launching path to U.S. foreign service career

Congratulations to Khalil Kilani ’21 on receiving the prestigious Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship! This distinguished award will fund two years of Khalil’s graduate education and provide internships on Capitol Hill and at a U.S. embassy or consulate. After completing the fellowship, Khalil will earn an appointment at the State Department.

Born in Jordan to Iraqi parents and later resettled in Portland, Khalil now studies computer science and government at Bowdoin College. Over the years, Khalil has continued to demonstrate his leadership skills and a remarkable commitment to community through engaging in student government and global citizenship initiatives as well as serving as an alumni ambassador for The Telling Room. He has worked as a McKeen Center Global Citizens Fellow in Peru and participated in the selective U.S. Foreign Service Internship Program with the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.

“I am proud to be an American by choice—this nation welcomed me at my most vulnerable moment, ensuring I could live a childhood where birds dotted the sky instead of bombs and bullets,” Khalil wrote in his fellowship application.