{"id":29790,"date":"2022-03-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ourpublicservice.org\/about\/impact\/making-a-difference-for-global-youth-and-helping-the-us-deliver-in-the-international-arena\/"},"modified":"2025-01-27T09:20:16","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T14:20:16","slug":"making-a-difference-for-global-youth-and-helping-the-us-deliver-in-the-international-arena","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ourpublicservice.org\/about\/impact\/making-a-difference-for-global-youth-and-helping-the-us-deliver-in-the-international-arena\/","title":{"rendered":"Making a difference for global youth\u00a0and helping the U.S. deliver in the\u00a0international\u00a0arena"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/i>Back to Impact<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\n
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Making a difference for global youth and helping the U.S. deliver in the international arena<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

How winning a Service to America Medal propelled one public servant\u2014and his work\u2014to new heights in government<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Since 2001, the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals\u00ae<\/a>, or Sammies, have been the premier awards program for federal employees. Considered the \u201cOscars\u201d of government service, the Sammies demonstrate why an effective government is critical to our democracy, highlighting the federal workforce\u2019s most significant accomplishments in protecting our health, safety and well-being. Since its inception, the program has honored more than 660 public servants and helped inspire others to enter government. Read more to learn how winning a Sammies primed one leader to build the State Department\u2019s global youth portfolio and advance his career in government.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before he began work as a Director for Global Engagement and Multilateral Diplomacy at the White House, Andy Rabens had launched a promising State Department career focused on engaging young leaders and foreign publics around the world\u2014with travels taking him to 70-plus countries in all corners of the globe, from Beijing to Baghdad, Jerusalem to Johannesburg, Kyiv to Kampala, and Lima to Luang Prabang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Rabens\u2019 early successes might have gone less noticed\u2014both within and outside government\u2014had he not won a Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal\u00ae<\/a>, the nation\u2019s premier honor recognizing excellence in the federal workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Named for the Partnership\u2019s late founder, Samuel J. Heyman, the Sammies have recognized over 660 public servants working in more than 220 agencies, subcomponents and offices since 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sammies honorees have been saluted by current<\/a> and former presidents, senior government leaders and dozens of notable celebrities. Each year, the Sammies showcase the many ways public servants impact our lives for the better and demonstrate the critical role that effective government plays in our democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2013, Rabens won the Sammies\u2019 Emerging Leaders Medal<\/a>, a recognition reserved for federal employees under the age of 35.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The award\u2014punctuated by a trip to the White House to meet President Obama\u2014helped propel his progression from a 30-year-old public diplomacy officer to the Special Advisor for Global Youth Issues at the State Department to a director role at the National Security Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along the way, Rabens helped build out the U.S. government\u2019s global youth engagement portfolio\u2014a robust suite of programs and policies to strengthen relationships with and further empower the next generation of leaders worldwide while also building bridges with American counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These efforts included programs such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n