• 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 selected the University of North Dakota because I could complete the degree by going to night classes.

Any work or internship experience during graduate school?

> I continued working full time as a Civil Rights Manager while going to school.

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

> The most useful course was Administrative Law. I also feel that Public Personnel Administration has been useful.

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?

> I have continued to work in the same position while taking correspondence courses in Administration from the USDA Graduate School. I hope to become an Administrative Officer.

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

> I enjoy overseeing the administration of Civil Rights Laws in the delivery of federal programs by my Agency. This inspires me because the people we help are low income and minority individuals.

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

> I am making a difference because I am now familiar with the myriad of issues that arise in administering a program for a federal agency. I can call upon the methods of problem solving that I learned in several of my courses, whether it be “people problems” or in the budget or management arena.

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

> If you think that you will work for a governmental or a nonprofit organization, an MPA course of study will be very helpful. I think that it was most helpful to me because I changed careers in “mid-life.” I switched from a scientific career to an administrative position. I needed to acquaint myself with everything from management theory to budgeting. It was a challenge to be back in the classroom, but well worth the personal time.