Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
There was a moment during Craig Ferguson’s early semesters at Creighton when it clicked in his mind that his pre-med friends sure had to devote lots of long hours to studying.
Ferguson, BS'99, was a pre-med student, too. The president of the Pre-Medical Society, in fact. A soon-to-be physician, until it hit him…
“I needed something totally different,” Ferguson said.
Safe to say, he found it.
Ferguson has spent nearly his entire professional career working for the U.S. State Department, stationed in countries all over the world as a foreign service officer with a specialty in public diplomacy.
He worked in Guatemala. Then China, then Luxembourg, then Cuba. He’s written speeches for ambassadors, served as a spokesman for Embassies and coordinated diplomatic visits and events. He took Spanish in college, and later learned more languages, including Mandarin, German and French. He’s met celebrities and collaborated with top political figures.
His current post: Madagascar.
Ferguson and his family for the last two years have lived in on the African island nation most known to Americans as the site of a 2005 animated film about zoo animals that accidentally got shipped to the jungle.
It’s not as remote as you’d think, according to Ferguson. But there certainly aren’t any other Creighton grads living nearby. He might be the only one.
“If you were to drill a hole through (the capital city) Antananarivo, you’d emerge on the other side of the Earth, just off the coast of California — you can't really get any further from the States,” he said.
It’s certainly not a path Ferguson could have predicted back in 1999 when he graduated from Creighton. In his State Department career, he’s crossed paths with only one fellow Creighton alum — a reminder of how uncommon this trajectory is compared with graduates of schools that traditionally channel students to government careers.
Ferguson’s first job in D.C. was studying spiders. He joined the Smithsonian as an entomologist. But to him, the research projects felt more like something he’d pick up as a hobby, and less like a career.
Since he was already in Washington, D.C., he figured he’d give Capitol Hill a try. He joined the staff of the U.S. Senator from Colorado.
He’s been in government ever since.
“I really enjoyed my time at Creighton and I learned a lot of important skills, but I was very science-focused as a student,” Ferguson said. “I never thought I would be doing this.”
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Ferguson’s Creighton connections did come in handy recently.
Ferguson had the idea to host the State Department’s sports envoy program in Madagascar. He reached out to former Bluejay Anthony Tolliver with hopes to arrange a series of goodwill and outreach events with a former NBA veteran serving as a headliner.
“I just floated his name to the office, and Anthony was interested,” Ferguson said.
Over the next several months, Ferguson’s idea quickly blossomed into an official State Department project. In August, Madagascar welcomed Tolliver, BSBA’07, and WNBA Hall of Famer Sylvia Fowles for a week-long event.
They visited orphanages and schools. They met with dignitaries. They hosted an exhibition basketball game. Ferguson and Tolliver even got to celebrate their Bluejay roots and share a few memories from campus over a round of golf.
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Ferguson’s been part of some big moments during his career. There were a few times that then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the U.S. Embassy while he was in Guatemala. He’s taken the lead when U.S. Senators and undersecretaries have visited.
But that week in August 2025 will always stand out.
“Anthony and Sylvia were so humble, gracious and kind — just fantastic,” Ferguson said. “The day after they left, I just sat there in front of my computer, like, ‘wow.’
“It’s a once-in-a-career moment, one of the best things I’ve been a part of. It was just really rewarding to help set it up, watch it unfold and see the impact those special moments had on people.”
The days have been busy since. Multiweek protests in Madagascar made world news headlines in October. The president fled the country.
But U.S. diplomacy doesn’t stop. Ferguson is always on the go.
“My whole role is to maintain communication with the foreign public, whether it’s relaying U.S. policy, writing speeches or representing the Embassy,” Ferguson said. “But I also get to take part in this incredible cultural exchange of ideas, whether it’s scientists visiting for research, or hosting events like the sports envoy program.
“It’s crazy to think about how I got here, but I’ve been fortunate to have so many enriching and rewarding experiences while serving my country.”
