• How did you select your graduate school and how did it prepare you for your career?
• Work or internship experience during graduate school
• What was the most important or useful course you took in the MPA/MPP?
• Were you a Presidential Management Intern?
• What has been your career path since graduating? What do you want to be doing in 5 years?
• What is the most exciting and/or interesting aspect of your current job?
• Do you feel your MPA/MPP is helping you to “make a difference?” How?
• What advice, if any, would you give to an undergraduate thinking about going for an MPA/MPP?

How did you select your graduate school and how did it prepare you for your career?

> I earned a BA in political science from MSU, so I was familiar with the quality of the university's Department of Political Science (in which the MPA program is housed).

Any work or internship experience during graduate school?

> I worked as a research assistant with the economics unit of the Michigan House Fiscal Agency (HFA) for about a year. My responsibilities involved research on a wide range of economic and fiscal topics, including the compilation of historical information regarding Michigan's major state taxes. This experience led to full-time employment with the agency.

What was the most important or useful course you took in the MPA/MPP?

> Policy Analysis--This course emphasized the ability to communicate analytical concepts in writing. This is an essential skill in my line of work--providing information on complex issues to a relatively non-technical audience (the state legislature).

The required two-course sequence in quantitative methods was also worthwhile. While I don't often use the specific methods in my work, the concepts behind those methods are often quite useful for thinking about public policy issues.

Were you a Presidential Management Intern?

> No.

What has been your career path since graduating? What do you want to be doing in 5 years?

> One year as a part-time research assistant with HFA. Three and a half years as a fiscal analyst with HFA (finished MPA work part-time during first two years of full-time employment with the agency).

I may well be doing what I'm doing now in five years (with new budget responsibilities perhaps). At some point, I'm likely to move into a more administrative, decision-making position in state government.

What is the most exciting and/or interesting aspect of your current job?

> I like my position because it involves working with a range of individuals: legislators and their staff, departmental staff, bill drafters, lobbyists, etc. I particularly enjoy the appropriations subcommittee process, in which the bulk of the budget deliberations take place; I am most directly involved in the process at this stage.

As a nonpartisan staff person, I have the opportunity to work in and observe the world of politics without being directly involved in the political aspects of the process.

Do you feel your MPA/MPP is helping you to “make a difference?” How?

> I think I'm making a difference in terms of (1) ensuring that members of the Michigan House of Representatives have reliable and timely information regarding budget issues available to them and (2) monitoring the budget process to ensure that the legislature's role is maintained. These functions are particularly important in light of the term limits to which Michigan legislators are now subject.

My MPA work was key in terms of developing the quantitative and writing skills necessary to analyze complex issues and effectively communicate that analysis to a wider audience.

What advice, if any, would you give to an undergraduate thinking about going for an MPA/MPP?

> The major advantage of an MPA degree, I think, is that it provides a broad view of how the public sector works, opening the door to a wide range of careers. In my experience, the requirements of the degree provide a good balance between theoretical concepts and practical experience.