Foreign affairs, international laws, and political science may not sound intriguing to the average person, but for sophomore Kion Bordbar, it’s what interests him most.

“I want to work either as a diplomat or an ambassador for the U.S. government.” Bordbar said.

Although he bounced between career options, working for the UN or the U.S. government was always at the back of Bordbar’s mind.

“When I was a kid, I was interested in what was going on in the news and I’d sit there and ask questions,” Bordbar said. “I would see the president or Congress on TV and think, ‘I want to do that.’”

Bordbar’s roots also drive him to pursue this career.

“Since I’m Persian, I have this far-fetched goal, that future me would be an amazing diplomat and I’d go and solve the political tension between Iran and America,” Bordbar said. “I have family in Iran and we try to bring them over here for Christmas and they’d apply for a visa but they wouldn’t get it, but that’s only because of the government issues.”

Classes offered at school, such as AP human geography and French, helped him finalize his decision for what he wanted to study in college.

“In AP human [geography], I failed every test except for the political unit,” Bordbar said. “I didn’t really struggle with that. That was kind of like, ‘Hey I’m good at this.’ I did more research and learned about international affairs and then I found the UN. [Also,] the two official languages [the UN] has are English and French.”

Bordbar’s family influenced him by exposing him to both ends of the political spectrum in one household.

“My mom and dad are Democrats, but my mom’s side of the family is heavily Republican,” Bordbar said. “Seeing how separated people were getting over political differences I just thought, ‘Why is this such a big deal?’”

Bordbar has always been more of a negotiator. Even as a child, he tried to avoid conflicts.

“If I ever got into an argument, I would try to figure it out as peacefully as possible,” Bordbar said. “Granted, when I was a kid, I thought you could solve debt by printing more money.”

Besides wanting to dissolve international tensions, Bordbar wants this job so that he can be remembered.

“I don’t want to be forgotten amongst all those 9 to 5 workers,” Bordbar said. “I want to do something in my life.”