Three Questions for Aleja Jurado Londoño

Tell me about your background.

I was born and raised in Colombia. I moved overseas to Turkey and initially the plan was for me to become a teacher. I went to Turkey for an internship because for the last year of education in Colombia, you are practicing what you learned. So I went to teach English in a very tiny school in a very small village. I started there before taking a job in a larger school in Istanbul.

I'm the only person in my whole family that has ever lived abroad; the only one who has ever left the country. I’m also the first person in the whole family who has earned a master's degree. I joke that it makes me the black sheep of the family.

What caused you to change your career path?

The Colombian government decided to open an embassy in Ankara, Turkey, and they made an open call for people who lived in Ankara and spoke English, Spanish and Turkish. I lived in Istanbul but didn’t think twice. I applied and ended up getting the job. In fact, I will forever have the title of being the first staff member of the Colombian embassy in Turkey.

I was initially hired to be the assistant to the ambassador. But as we grew and as we started making connections, I started handling the cultural affairs section. My initial plan of staying in Turkey for one year turned out to be eight years. At the end of those eight years, I felt that I had gained experience but wanted some formal education as well. When I was almost done with my masters, I spent six or seven months traveling before returning to Colombia to work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Then, in 2019, I moved to the United States.

What does a protocol officer do, and why do you enjoy it?

In a few words, a protocol officer pleases people. But pleasing people involves a lot more than you realize. One of the things that I enjoyed in my previous job at the embassy, and that I enjoy now, is when people have a great experience and I know that I did everything I could do to ensure it.

That's basically what a protocol officer does. We take care of things, we plan a lot, we plan to the minute, and we take into consideration all the variables around a situation. For example, attire. Let’s say we are hosting somebody who plans to address a group. Are they going to wear formal clothes? If they are, the protocol officer has to inform our hosts that this person is going to dress a certain way so they can follow suit. But the visitor doesn’t need to manage that, it's our job to do that. I am there to ease the burdens.

I will say that meeting people, talking to them, and making these connections is awesome.