In this episode, Ravi D’Souza sits down with Gian Gozum, a U.S. Foreign Service Officer currently based in Singapore, to explore his remarkable journey from growing up as a Filipino immigrant in small-town Tennessee to serving at U.S. embassies around the world. Gian shares how his mother’s bold decision to move their family to the Deep South shaped his work ethic, resilience, and outlook on opportunity. He reflects on navigating identity, ignorance, and belonging, the mentors who nudged him toward international studies, and the experiences that led him to public service. The conversation dives into his education at the University of Memphis and Johns Hopkins SAIS, his early jobs, life in the Foreign Service, and what it’s really like moving from post to post—including Honduras, Singapore, and his upcoming assignment in Beijing. It’s an inspiring story about ambition, adaptability, and building a global life rooted in service
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