Degree program: Master of Public Policy, 2019
Hometown: Shrewsbury, Massachusetts
Where I interned: The office of Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka, through the Civic Action Project, a fellowship program that provides internship experience, training, and mentoring for emerging public service leaders.
What I did there: I worked directly with her team of policy advisors, assisting them on a range of research initiatives. These ranged from conducting a literature review on the behavioral healthcare system to manipulating data in Excel to predict how the state could increase its tax revenue by taxing more services. I was fortunate enough to attend meetings with stakeholder groups as well as working group and task force sessions to gain perspective from legislators and professionals in the fields I was researching.
The most important thing I learned: The importance of sustained relationships between the legislature and external stakeholder groups, from state agencies to private organizations. Continuous dialogue between these groups keeps everyone abreast of current states of affairs, even when groups are not seeking legislative action.
The most challenging part of my internship: This definitely had to be my lack of experience with legislative affairs. A lot of my energy went simply to trying to understand the legislative process. Thankfully, I had opportunities to attend Senate sessions, learn the role of conference committees, and more, so this challenge proved to be a useful learning experience.
What surprised me the most: The Senate President was extremely generous in the meetings and exchanges she allowed me to attend and witness. The most shocking thing I saw was the deliberations over budget items between House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means. I can’t divulge much about it but the process was definitely not what I had expected.
Why I’m studying public policy: To bring together strong, honest, data-driven analysis and policy-making to effectively improve society.
Future plans: After graduating, I began working in the Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance as a fiscal policy analyst for various Health and Human Services and Energy and Environmental Affairs agencies, as well as state collective bargaining affairs.
