What inspires you to work in public service?
Being raised in a close community outside of Cleveland, Ohio, I have spent my life attending weekend volunteer events and interacting daily with my neighbors. I find great passion and motivation in work that makes me feel connected to my community, which has committed me to a life of public service. I strive to use my career as a catalyst for change, positive impact, and rich connections in civil society.
What is your major, and do you have any minors or specializations?
Master of Public Administration (in-progress), Bachelor of Arts in Public Management, Leadership, & Policy, and a minor in Women, Gender, and Public Policy
What coursework or academic experiences have most shaped your interests in policy, leadership or public service?
My policy-writing coursework and undergraduate capstone research paper have had the most significant impact on shaping my policy interests. As a woman who has experienced multiple adverse health complications in the U.S. healthcare system, I used these opportunities as a chance to explore women's healthcare disparities. Through this research, I refined my policy interest to focus on the analysis of sexual education for adolescents. Although I remain passionate about all women's rights issues, I have specialized knowledge and experience with federal and state policy related to public school sexual education. My undergraduate capstone paper is titled "Improving National Sexual Education Standards."
What specific skills or experiences do you bring to your internship?
I have a diverse set of professional experiences that have prepared me to successfully tackle new challenges while bringing a fresh perspective to the internship. As a development intern for a local nonprofit, I cultivated strong interpersonal communication skills by participating in fundraising campaigns, collaborating with community stakeholders, and communicating with clients and donors. Additionally, I am a strong multitasker, demonstrated by previous internship experiences in which I was required to manage multiple projects at once. As a government relations and digital communications intern for a trade association in Washington, DC, I balanced a heavy policy-writing workload with weekly public-facing social media posts and material formulation. I am an excellent verbal and written communicator, and I bring an enthusiastic work ethic to my internship.
What strengths do you most rely on when collaborating with others?
When collaborating with others, I often rely on frequent and upfront communication. I believe that the most successful teamwork stems from open communication with scheduled check-ins and frequent updates along the way. When sharing differences in opinions, it is also critical to understand the unique perspectives that every coworker and stakeholder brings to the conversation. Identifying the strengths that every person's perspective adds, while understanding a shared common goal, results in the most effective collaboration.
What are your career goals and how do you hope this fellowship will support your professional journey?
I am committed to a life in public service. My career goals revolve around professional work that positively impacts the community and allows me to interact with stakeholders. I value work that emphasizes a mission-first culture and prioritizes the formulation of collaborative policies. With my strong background in women's rights and sexual education policies, I also hope to continue serving women and adolescents by advocating for policy change and program restructuring. This fellowship is a critical support in my professional journey as it will allow me to develop rich connections in the nation's capital and explore my federal policy interests further. I look forward to the opportunity to connect with my cohort and build relationships across diverse sectors of public service to create meaningful change.
What is your favorite or most impactful project from a previous role?
The most impactful project that I had the privilege of participating in was an event that I planned for FrontLine Service, a nonprofit in Cleveland, Ohio, serving adolescents who had experienced traumatic family deaths. I helped organize an annual event that invited the organization's adolescent trauma therapy clients to a day-long camp in which they could engage in therapeutic reflections, receive a free meal, and spend a day of fun away from their homes. Although I developed many important hard skills related to event preparation, volunteer coordination, and interpersonal communication, this project became so meaningful because of the impact that I witnessed firsthand. After months of planning, it was extremely moving to attend the event and interact with the clients that I had done all of this work for. This internship project solidified my interest in public service and taught me the importance of connecting with the people that I am serving.