Franklin Alumni Feature

Robb Hawkins '01 and Abigail Hawkins '02

One of the aspects that many Franklin alumni cherish most about the College is the friendships they made while attending the school. For Robb and Abigail Hawkins, this holds especially true: they met while studying at Franklin College when Abigail’s roommate found Robb, a junior transfer, doing laundry and invited him up to their room to meet people. Abigail and Robb discovered they were from the same part of California and started dating. After graduating, they married.

Robb graduated from Franklin in 2001 with a B.A. in International Relations and worked in consulting and finance before going back to school to receive his M.A. in International Trade Policy and Business and Management from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. After finishing his graduate studies, Robb decided to seek work abroad. He was hired by the United States Department of State and assigned to work in the embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia.

As a Foreign Service officer, Robb was one of the first responders to the July 2009 hotel bombing attacks in Jakarta. He was responsible for locating American citizens who were victims of the bombing and ensuring that they were able to return safely home.

“Our experience in Indonesia so far has been challenging but very exciting and extremely rewarding,” says Robb. “I really enjoy serving my country while working overseas.”

Abigail, who was drawn to Franklin by her interest in languages, finished her degree in 2002 with a B.A. in International Communications. She was offered a position with the United States government in the embassy in Jakarta after they arrived for Robb’s assignment. “Indonesia has been a wonderful and challenging learning experience for both of us,” says Abigail. “I studied International Communications at Franklin and that degree really stoked my interest in learning about other cultures.”

The Hawkins’ decision to move overseas was influenced by the lifestyle they led at Franklin. The life of adventure and travel that is so common for Franklin students gave them the urge to continue exploring and discovering new things, something that both Robb and Abigail hold dear to their hearts. “It was definitely my time at Franklin that cemented the idea in my head that I wanted to live abroad long term,” says Abigail. “Being overseas in school and now has also given me a much deeper appreciation for the United States.”

Although Robb and Abigail have traveled in Indonesia they feel they’ve only started to scratch the surface of what there is to see and do in that country. They also visited Vietnam, a whole other world to see and be amazed by. Their assignment in Jakarta is for two years, which is soon to expire, and they look forward to their next posting, although it is unclear at this time where that will be. “I would like to stay in the developing world,” says Robb. “I believe that is where you will find and deal with some of the most interesting issues.”

When reminiscing about their time at the College, they often refer to Academic Travel as one the high points of their Franklin experience. Robb traveled to northern and southern Italy as well as Africa with Professor Flutti. He treasures the relationships he was able to establish with his professors while on these journeys.

Abigail traveled to many places including China, Russia, Greece and Spain; however, her favorite destinations were those closest to home, such as Professor Parson’s Switzerland trip. She says that these voyages in particular allowed her to experience things that were so close to where she lived yet so unnoticed.

Robb encourages students who want to work abroad after graduation to “consider nontraditional options, i.e., the Peace Corps, the military, mission work, volunteer work or teaching English overseas. These all can be very good stepping stones into the private or public sector. Also consider learning languages that are outside the normal European and Franklin set such as Russian, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi or Urdu. These are high-demand languages in all sectors.”

The Hawkins’ agree that the multiculturalism they experienced as Franklin students is an aspect that sets them ahead of most other college graduates. For both Robb and Abigail, Franklin was a life-defining experience. It was not simply an institution where they could receive a degree—it was a time that set precedents for what was to come later in their lives. Lessons learned both inside and outside the classroom at Franklin prepared them for exactly the type of lifestyle they chose in a more positive way than any other institution could have.

December 2009