Converse Welcomes Casey Addis ’04 as Commencement Speaker

The Class of 2015 enthusiastically announced that alumna Casey Addis ’04 will give the Commencement Address this year. Addis returns home to both Converse and her hometown of Gaffney, S.C. as she becomes one of the youngest commencement speakers in the 125-year history of Converse College.

A standout member of Converse’s Model Arab League delegation who double majored in economics and politics, Casey joined the U.S. Department of State as a career member of the Foreign Service in 2011. She served as consul at the U.S. Embassy Baghdad from 2013-2014 where she managed the Special Immigrant Visa Program for Iraqis who served alongside the United States. She was also responsible for American Citizen Services and Crisis Preparedness. In 2012, Casey served as a political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, where she covered the Libyan elections and government formation. From 2011-2013, she was the primary Middle East Advisor to the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Council at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Prior to joining the State Department, Casey was a Middle East Analyst at the Congressional Research Service in Washington, D.C. Casey holds a Masters Degree in Public Affairs and a Master of Arts in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Texas at Austin (2008).

Converse students interviewed Casey during the College’s 125th anniversary celebration project to record conversations that capture the unique voice, value and vision of our community.