St. Bernard seniors recently enjoyed a visit from Alabama gubernatorial candidate Lindsey Blanchard of Pike County who also served as the U.S. Ambassador to Slovenia.

Blanchard shared her experiences with the senior class and encouraged each student to consider the opportunities of becoming a U.S. ambassador. While ambassadors are ultimately responsible for everything that occurs in their area on their watch, they rely on a solid team to best serve American citizens abroad and represent our national interests.

“Slovenia is not very far removed from being a socialist country,” Blanchard said. She saw firsthand how they are still struggling with their legacy. This experience gave her a renewed appreciation of the benefits of a free society and reinstated her absolute opposition to socialism in any form.

“While serving as our country’s ambassador appointed by President Trump, I had the opportunity to help my home state of Alabama and our state’s economy,” said Blanchard. “I returned to Huntsville from Slovenia to broker a deal to sell our Alabama defense products from Redstone Arsenal to our NATO partners in Europe worth millions. The ambassadorship gave me great insight into the challenges and opportunities those in the military and our defense field are facing.”

James Griffin, history instructor, expressed his sincere thanks to her for speaking with his class, and he was very impressed with the students’ attention and questions presented to Blanchard.