We're excited to connect with our alumni through our Darlington Connects series. Today we hear from Acquania (Gibbs) Escarne (‘01), a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State and a wealth strategist.
Acquania knew from an early age that she wanted a job where she could travel and help people. In the seventh grade, she sold candy to make the money that would finance a trip to Spain. “Going on that trip changed my life, and after returning to Atlanta, I knew I wanted to travel and see the world," she said.
One year later, another trip changed the trajectory of her life. Acquania’s good friend, Tia (Brown) Coachman (‘01), was visiting Darlington School for a campus tour and overnight trip. Acquania decided to ride with her to Rome. After the campus tour concluded, it was time for Acquania to head back to Atlanta, but Tia begged for her to stay the night as well. Acquania recalls, “I hadn’t planned to spend the night and I didn’t even have a change of clothes or anything with me. The admission officer told me not to worry -- they would find me a toothbrush!”
The campus visit was such a success that both Acquania and Tia enrolled at Darlington as freshmen resident students the next fall through the program “A Better Chance.” At Darlington, Acquania took advantage of every opportunity and felt supported along the way. “Mr. Murray helped me the most with my essays and Mr. Moss encouraged me to apply to elite schools,” she said. She knew she wanted to study international affairs and George Washington University in Washington, D.C., was the perfect fit.
At George Washington University, she studied both political science and international affairs. Her sophomore year, Acquania began searching for scholarship opportunities to help offset the expenses of a private university education. She applied for and was granted the Thomas R. Pickering Scholarship. This program paid for three years of school in exchange for five years of service to the U.S. Department of State. After graduating, Acquania entered John Hopkins University and earned a Masters in Economics and Post-Conflict Resolution. The program afforded her the opportunity to study one year in Italy and, the subsequent year, in Washington, D.C. Upon completion of the program, she began her career as a foreign service officer.
Acquania has served as a U.S. diplomat for 12 years. She has been stationed in Haiti, Ecuador and Dubai. To date, she has visited over 32 countries! She currently serves, via the Washington, D.C., offices, our citizens who are in Vietnam, Loas, Burma, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia. Her recent work focuses on evacuations of U.S. citizens from these countries. “Making logistics arrangements to bring U.S. citizens back home safely during the pandemic has been both challenging and rewarding,” she said.
While she loves her work with the State Department, Acquania also wanted to do something to empower women. In 2015, she and her family returned from Dubai and she began her journey as a wealth strategist. She earned her life insurance license and began blogging on her site, “The Purpose of Money.” She found that many women, particularly minority women, did not fully understand how to create wealth for themselves nor leave a legacy for their families. In the past four years, she has tripled her life insurance business, started a podcast, and counseled a number of women on entrepreneurship and wealth accumulation. “I really love sharing my financial knowledge with others, and helping people find financial freedom and build generational wealth gives me such satisfaction,” Acquania said.
Acquania is excited to participate in the Darlington Connects program. She and her husband have two sons and live in northern Virginia.
Are you a Darlington alum (or do you know one) with a career or interest that is fascinating and unique? We'd love to spotlight you in a future blog! Please email connect@darlingtonschool.org if you are interested in being featured.
