Paul Houston, the deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and assistant director of the Diplomatic Security Service for Threat Investigations and Analysis, came to the University of Iowa to speak with students about his career in the State Department on Friday.
Houston attended the University of Iowa for his undergraduate degree in political science and international business before going on to a master’s program in national security policy and international economics at the University of Kentucky.
The Diplomatic Security Service is a federal law enforcement agency with multiple directorates, including the directorate for Threat Investigations and Analysis. In this role, Houston analyzes threats and intelligence that affect the department’s personnel in the field.
Houston has been working in the state department for 26 years and said that he still finds satisfaction in the work. He emphasizes the importance of being able to represent the United States in foreign countries, helping countries through their challenges, and partnering with them on bilateral or multilateral issues.
“I’m in my 26th year of doing this every single day,” Houston said. “I still love the job. I like the excitement. I like the adventure that it presents.”
Over those 26 years, Houston said that the Diplomatic Security Service has had to adapt to a changing world, particularly with developments in technology. With the primary goal of providing and maintaining a secure and safe environment for U.S. diplomats overseas, Houston said that it’s the department’s responsibility to adapt to change.
“So as technology has changed, we have been able to keep pace with it and really try to stay one step ahead of whatever those threats may be, whether it’s terrorism, whether it’s a counterintelligence threat, whether it’s natural disasters as well,” Houston said. “That’s the responsibility that we have.”
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As far as threats against the U.S. and the American people go, Houston said that there is not a singular largest threat. The security of any country or region can change, or face multiple threats at once, Houston said, so his directorate takes care to ensure that they have a firm understanding of the political environment in different parts of the world.
Ultimately, Houston notes that threats are inevitably going to change depending on the country or the environment, but the necessity for diplomat safety does not change.
“We have our U.S. diplomats that are represented in those 280 odd locations around the world, and it’s our responsibility to keep them safe,” Houston said. “Those are our most important assets.”
Houston’s presentation to UI students dove into his role at the State Department and different opportunities for internships or jobs in the U.S. Foreign Service and the State Department. Houston met with students after the presentation and fielded their questions about his career and how to best pursue a career of their own in the state department.
Houston said that the question he was asked the most by students was what they should be studying in order to achieve a career in international affairs. To this end, Houston said that there is no one approach.
“There’s no prescribed degree that’s a requirement for any field,” said Houston, “So the answer is, whatever your interest is in that’s what you should study.”