Student Spotlights

Why did you decide to study Public Policy and Administration at Boise State?
While I was originally set on graduate school in DC, I realized that Boise State and the surrounding city are the perfect live case study for pursuing public policy and administration education. A Medium-sized city and state capital nestled into a region of vast natural resources makes Boise and Boise State the perfect location for this type of program. Moreover, the relatively intimate cohort size allows for ample research and work opportunities should one desire to seek them out!

What makes Boise State a good place to study Public Policy and Administration?
The School of Public Service, its faculty, and its network of amazing opportunities for research and other positions is what makes Boise State a premier place to study PPA. Coming from a different state and university for my undergraduate degree, I have been amazed by the opportunities I have been afforded here. Since starting at Boise State, I’ve found myself serving as the VP for the MPA student organization, working as a graduate research associate for the Energy Policy Institute and navigating a lot of zoom interviews and application processes for different public sector entities that recruit heavily out of the School of Public Service at Boise State.

What are the most important things you’ve learned in the program so far?
From this program, I have learned that policy as well as its formation and administration are dynamic systems and no two processes look exactly the same way. Moreover, I’ve learned from my GA research that governance and its nuances exist everywhere and require deeper study and understanding so we can better the implementation processes of our various social systems moving into the future.

How have you been able to apply what you’ve been learning in the classroom to work outside the classroom?
The core courses have applied to my work in more ways than I could have imagined. In the more direct sense, foundational concepts of the public policy process have aided in my actual research endeavors at the Energy Policy Institute; core courses like Organizational Behavior and Theory and Public Personnel Management, however, have given me new insights as to how I should look at and consider the structure of my place of work, how to analyze the fluidity of operations, and how to effectively suggest improvements to the organization’s structure to foster a better work life, when necessary.