When the State Department's Norman Neureiter showed up at a recent Capitol Hill reception for the US Physics Olympiad team, he did what he has become adept at doing during his past two years in Washington: He saw the science‐oriented gathering as a recruiting opportunity and worked the room. Neureiter congratulated the high‐school physics students for their achievements, and then urged them to consider the State Department as a career option. As he left for his next event, Neureiter made sure there was a stack of his recruitment brochures on the table just outside the door.