David Betres loves funnel cake from the Big Butler Fair, Dairy Queen Blizzards and chatting with his Butler High School French teacher.

This is just when he is at his home in Butler and not greeting crowned princesses, working at the Paris Olympics or advising federal government officials.

The Butler County native holds a position as the communications adviser to Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S.’s former ambassador to the United Nations. He also serves as the cultural adviser at Turnkey, a financial security company.

“He’s very close to a powerful, powerful woman, especially for a 27-year-old boy,” his father, Frank Betres, said in July.

Betres was raised in Butler in the early 2000s with his parents, Frank and Cynthia, and his younger brother, John. Pennsylvania was in his DNA from the start, because both parents had also grown up in the state.

Frank Betres owned a local Hallmark store, and Cynthia Betres worked at the Butler Area Public Library before becoming an adjunct instructor at the Community College of Allegheny County.

According to his father, Betres worked with him in the Hallmark store “since he was a little boy.”

“I got pretty lucky with my parents,” Betres said. “They instilled in me at a young age a want to contribute to community.”

He spent summers in Florida with his grandmother, who was also a Pennsylvania native, further weaving the keystone state into the fabric of his personality.

Betres went on to attend Butler Senior High School, where he met a lifelong mentor — his French teacher, Valerie Lepage. He cited her as responsible for his becoming bilingual, changing the trajectory of his future career.

“She was incredible,” he said. “We speak weekly at this point, and it’s amazing to see how you start something that turns into a huge core of what you want to do in your life.”

Betres graduated with the Golden Tornado Class of 2016, balancing classwork with a full-time job as a manager at Nordstrom his senior year.

Betres went from his quiet, Western Pennsylvania town to the city that never sleeps.

He attended Parsons School of Design in New York City, working toward a bachelor’s degree in strategic management and French. There, he took a course in sustainable systems and earned a tour of the United Nations headquarters.

This sparked an interest in diplomacy that only continued to grow. Upon learning about Parsons’ summer program with the United Nations, Betres decided to apply.

He was then accepted to the United Nations Summer Program, where he studied international relations, participated in high-profile meetings and assisted employees with diplomatic projects.

“It really was the opening of my eyes to the U.N. system,” Betres said. “It opened this interest for me, and how it is we can cooperate globally and where people come together to have discussions and make decisions. Like, maybe we can work together to tackle our shared problems?”

Betres earned his degree after the summer program and began a master’s program right away.

Feeling at home in New York’s varied cultural landscape, Betres went on to attend New York University for a master’s degree in international relations and global affairs.

“My master’s degree was focused directly on the study of international relations, and then I made a full transition to being a State Department employee and became a diplomat,” he said. “But it all became a reality from that one summer program.”

Betres worked directly with the federal government during President Donald Trump’s first term, as well as through Joe Biden’s presidency. His position with the State Department allowed him the rare chance to interact with global leaders.

When asked if he had met Biden or Trump, Betres replied, “Oh, of course! Many, many times.”

Particularly, he worked on several projects under Biden and his secretary of state, Antony Blinken.

“I got to support and staff the secretary in Paris, as well as in New York when the president and the secretary came to the United Nations for the General Assembly, which happens each September,” he said, explaining that the event includes world leaders coming to New York City.

He described the “humbling” experience of staffing former first lady Jill Biden in both cities as well. He also accompanied her to meet with Ukraine’s first lady.

“I got to take (Jill Biden) to visit an incredible number of New York landmarks,” Betres said, “just promoting American culture and American values, and what better way to do that than with the first lady of the United States. I mean, it’s an iconic role.”

He said he is perhaps most proud of the fact that events he worked on helped shape the world’s perspective on America. He recalled greeting visiting leaders from 193 countries at a United Nations reception in New York City.

“I’ve met kings. I’ve met queens, crowned princesses, princes, heads of organizations,” Betres said. “They may not remember me, but I know they remember how I made them feel and how I treat them. They’ll remember, ‘Those Americans, they do a great job at showing us their culture and their values.’”

People often don’t understand how “normal” and “human” world leaders are, he said. They all have families, interests and even favorite ice cream flavors.

Something Betres and Biden have in common is a love for Dairy Queen, a must hit for the diplomat when he returns to Butler.

While Betres doesn’t see himself moving back to the area, unless he were to run for office someday, he visits at least once a year.

From the invention of the Jeep to Fallingwater to the Andy Warhol museum, Betres said he swells with pride when thinking about his Western Pennsylvania roots.

“You just notice this warmth from people (in the area) that I miss. I love being around people from home, because I do think it reminds me of the conversations that helped shape my personality,” he said.

Annabelle Chipps is a Slippery Rock University graduate and one of 10 Pittsburgh Media Partnership summer interns.