By Lana Lagomarsini

Despite James Jeffrey’s real experiences as senior advisor to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, it was the loftier ideas of President Harry Truman and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill that inspired him to become involved with foreign affairs, he said.

Jeffrey, a 1969 Northeastern graduate, spoke yesterday in West Village F about his experiences working in foreign affairs.

“Diplomacy is a contact sport … [it gave me] exposure to new views of America,” he said.

Jeffrey’s work with Rice included advising the secretary on the situation in Iraq from August 2005 through August 2006. Jeffrey has also served as deputy chief of mission in Baghdad from June 2004 through March 2005.

Denis Sullivan, a professor and director of international affairs and host of the talk, said Jeffery’s talk had much to offer students at the university.

“It’s the fact that he graduated from Northeastern, had a successful career, and is now bringing that back,” he said.

Jeffrey spoke about his experience at Northeastern, and said his co-op opportunities, helped him decide what he wanted to do with his life.

“I got bitten by the foreign affairs bug, and never recovered,” Jeffrey said.

Students who attended the event were mostly international affairs or political science majors, Sullivan said, and the career services department hoped hearing from an expert in the field would inspire students.

“He’s an interesting guy, and he obviously has the credentials to know what he’s talking about” said Michael Kelly, a senior political science major.

After graduating from Northeastern in 1969, Jeffrey served in the US Army until 1976, where he was stationed in Germany and Vietnam, according to the State Department’s website. He returned to Boston University to obtain his Master’s degree in business in 1977. Jeffrey then became a career member of the United States Foreign Service, the site stated.

His most recent plans include his next project working as an ambassador to Iran, he said during the lecture.

Jeffrey spoke to students on how the Northeastern education helped him pursue the field in which he thrived in, and advised students that getting work experience was a major part of his growth as a person.

“I’m a great believer of getting work experience before going to grad school,” Jeffrey said.

Northeastern was the first of many steps that Jeffrey took on his career path, and he was able share his ideas so students can pursue successful careers, Sullivan said.

“Jeffrey can lend a personal and professional perspective to international relations students,” said Irene Hammer-McLaughlin, development officer for the College of Arts and Sciences.

Jeffrey briefly spoke about traveling to Iran in 2004 to set up an embassy as one of the difficult parts of his job and said that the majority of the employees at the embassy were armed.

“We had about five thousand people, of which roughly four thousand were armed. [That’s] unusual for an embassy” Jeffrey said.

Freshman international affairs major Angela Loporto said she thought the speech was informative.

“He gave a lot of clarity about working for the military and the state department,” she said.

Jeffrey also spoke about how the current economic crisis will affect jobs. He said there is a reluctance to cut back on hiring for the foreign service, and jobs were available for those who wanted them – and were able to pass the foreign service exam. He said there are many problems facing students today that differ from when he was in school.

“Working and studying in [the 1960s] was somewhat harder than today … The drama of 1968 was compelling,” Jeffrey said.

Jeffrey also spoke about coming home to Boston and to his alma mater. He said students should embrace every adventure that they have with hope and not to worry about the unknown.

“We should live and embrace life, and know that others can make a difference,” Jeffrey said.