You’ve had a fascinating global career, including serving as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Republic of Maldives. What have been some of the highlights of your career? Could you tell us one story about your time as Ambassador?

Wills: When I joined the Foreign Service in 1972 (one year after graduating from UVa), I had never traveled outside the US. So, I sought assignments in different parts of the world rather than focusing on one region or country. Over the course of my 36-year career, the FS obliged by sending my family and me, in order, to Romania, South Africa, Iran, Barbados, Yugoslavia, Belgium, India and Sri Lanka. Along the way, I learned five languages; we had two children, three dogs and four cats; we made many foreign friends; we lived through earthquakes, hurricanes, one tidal wave and one civil war; we saw great beauty and, occasionally, great misery and ugliness; and we were never, ever bored. All things summed up, it was a wonderful, exciting and colorful career.

As for a story from my time as Ambassador: on the day my wife and I flew into Colombo, Sri Lanka to take up my Ambassadorial posting, I was met by the Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission, who hustled me off to meet the Foreign Minister, while my wife was met by two officers of the American Women’s Club and taken to a lunch in her honor; en route to her lunch, the car stopped at a traffic circle, where a man ran to the middle of traffic, stopped and screamed a message in Tamil and then blew himself up!; and thus my wife had her first experience of the civil war underway between Sri Lanka’s Sinhala majority and its Tamil minority. (The bomber was a so-called Black Tiger, an elite squad of Tamil combatants willing to commit suicide for the cause.)

What have been some of the biggest lessons you have learned and/or skills you have developed across your career?

Wills: The biggest lesson I learned was to be understated and always respectful with locals. The most valuable skill was to sharpen my writing. In the FS, we write a lot, and the better and more compelling our writing is, the more influence we have over US policy.

What was a highlight of your time at UVA?

Wills: I loved my time at UVa. I thought the education was first rate, both academically and socially. I got to live on the lovely Lawn my fourth year. And I met my wife at a mixer with students from Sweet Briar!

How did your studies influence your decision to embark on a career in the Foreign Service? What advice would you give to UVA students today interested in careers in foreign affairs?

Wills: As part of my majors, I took courses in US diplomatic history, international organizations, diplomacy rather than war, European and Asian diplomacy in the 20th century, and international economics, trade theory and money and banking. This had a huge influence on my career choice. How could it not have?

My advice for current students is take relevant courses, get to know some foreign students at the University, and travel and study overseas if you can afford it.

What inspires you to support the passport grant through UVA’s Office of Global Affairs?

Wills: I wanted very much to travel overseas while an undergrad, but as a scholarship student (part need, part academic) I could not afford the cost of foreign study or the cost of foreign travel in the summer (I needed to work in the summers to help pay for college!)