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Her career with the State Department led her all over the diplomatic World Story & photos by Susan Lassiter
Monique
was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pa. but both
of her parents, Velma Dublin Austin and Leonard
Earl Austin, were from Smithfield. Her mother’s
sisters, Clara Avery and Rogerlyn Smith, also
lived in Smithfield and taught in Johnston County
schools. Monique
and
her brothers, Kenneth and Sheldon, visited
relatives here while they were growing up. Both
brothers now live in Smithfield. Monique thought
about retiring in Washington, D.C. but family
roots brought her here instead. Her
parents
left Smithfield for Philadelphia after Velma
Austin graduated from nursing school in Charlotte
and Earl returned from the Korean War. Her mother
was a pediatric nurse with the Philadelphia Public
School System and her father worked in the urban
planning office for Marion Township, Pa. The
parents planned to return to Smithfield to retire
but Mr. Austin died in 1985. Mrs. Austin came in
1987 and worked part-time at the Mental Health
Center. Monique
graduated
from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in
psychology and received a scholarship to attend
Temple University in Philadelphia to earn a
master's degree in social work with a minor in
social justice. A frustrating internship with the
Superior Court for the District of Columbia swayed
her career path and she didn’t finish the master's
program. It
was
a court case that changed her direction as a
social worker when a young abused child was
returned to his parent rather than Monique’s
recommendation of placing him in a safe
environment. "I knew I couldn’t take that very
long," she admitted. Next,
she
received an internship to work at NASA
headquarters in Washington, D.C. --- in the
women’s program of NASA’s Equal Employment Office,
training women to strive for upward mobility. When
that internship ended, Monique worked as a
researcher on Capitol Hill for the Congressional
Research Service of the Library of Congress. (Her
brother, Sheldon, also worked for the Library of
Congress.) In 1989, she moved to Boston to attend
Simmons University, a well-known school for social
work and business administration. She earned an
MBA degree in 1991. In
Boston
and later in Washington, Monique worked in the
Government Accountability Office (GAO) in the
areas of public health and environmental issues.
The GAO provides auditing and investigative
services to Congress. It was in 1999 that the
pieces of her education and career experiences
jelled. She was recruited to join the Inspector
General’s Office at the State Department. And that
was just prior to the big "Y2K" controversy. Y2K
--- also known as the “millennium bug,” according
to National Geographic --- was a computer flaw
that could have caused problems when dealing with
dates beyond December 31, 1999. It was feared by
computer programmers and users all over the world
that it would happen on January 1, 2000. "When
complicated computer programs were being written
during the 1960s through the 1980s, computer
engineers used a two-digit code for the year. The
19 was left out to shorten the date because data
storage in computers took up a lot of space,”
explained National Geographic. In other words, New
Year's Day 2000 could have been interpreted as
January 1, 1900 and that would have caused havoc
for banks, power plants, and transportation that
depend on correct time and date. Because
of
the threat, Monique’s State Department assignment
was to determine if embassies were prepared for
Y2K. Asia was her first portfolio. That included
China, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, and Jakarta. When
serving in China and because of her tall stature
and dark complexion, "I stood out in a crowd and
probably had more photos taken of me than Chairman
Mao," she laughed.
Members
of
the Foreign Service must pass vigorous oral and
written exams. Required clearances include
medical, suitability, and "Top Secret" security.
Members must be "worldwide available and deployed
anywhere based on the needs of embassies and
consulates." There’s always potential for
violence, civil unrest, or warfare. Over
various
assignments, Monique served as a General Services
Officer as well as a Management Officer. She dealt
with banking officials, vendors, and service
providers. That could include security, utilities,
equipment and supplies, housing, and
transportation.
Another
treasured
assignment was to Haiti for two years following
the terrible earthquake there in 2010. Monique was
the Deputy Director of Management for the embassy.
She was assigned to find housing for Americans. It
was in Haiti when she met President Jimmy Carter,
who came as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity,
and also President and Mrs. Bill Clinton when
Hillary was Secretary of State. For
three
years during the Obama Administration, Monique
held a temporary assignment at the United Nations
coordinating UN General Assembly meetings on
behalf of the Office of International Conferences,
which accredited speakers. Monique and her staff
worked with event planning and logistics for
hotels, transportation, and conference rooms. It
was here that she met President Barack Obama at a
reception for the UN staff. Her
final
assignment was in Washington, where she sometimes
attended ceremonies in the White House Rose
Garden. Over her years of employment, she had
sensitive assignments she can’t talk about. Monique
is
still getting settled in Smithfield. She
anticipates being active with her sorority, Delta
Sigma Theta, and is looking for volunteer
opportunities in the community. She has so much to
share about her fascinating life as a diplomat and
world traveler.
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When asked if she would agree to
an interview, Monique Austin asked, "Why would
anyone be interested in me? I don’t want to sound
uppity." Then she began reflecting on her
distinguished career and travels to over 30
countries for the U.S. Department of State. She
recently retired and moved to Smithfield.