Having served at the federal, state, county, and local level, I’m living proof that a La Follette School education can literally prepare you for almost any career field in government.
Alumni profiles
Mitchell Running, MPA ’17, MPH ’18
The La Follette School will give you the tools necessary to be successful in a career in public policy, regardless of the sector or level of government you are interested in.
Jackson Parr, MPA ’20
The breadth of coursework I completed at the La Follette School provided me the opportunity to approach challenges through an interdisciplinary lens. Flood events trigger many different social and institutional dynamics that all must be considered when identifying solutions.
Emma Cleveland, MPA ’20
Having professors like Dave Weimer and Greg Nemet consistently challenge me—asking questions, throwing curve balls into assignments, and making us do some serious critical thinking—has really helped me become a more confident employee.
Megan Stritchko (MPA ’09)
The La Follette School was recommended to me by an alum. I was drawn to the coursework that could develop my quantitative skills and to the wide variety of elective courses that I could choose from. I knew that I wanted to use my MPA in public service and was drawn to the La Follette School as the embodiment of the Wisconsin Idea.
Heidi Normandin (MA ’98)
“The La Follette School gives you a well-rounded set of tools to approach public policy and public administration problems. Even at my first job, I felt equipped to handle whatever project came my way.”
Laura Bunn, MIPA
“Use your time at the La Follette School to explore options and take a variety of electives to develop and apply skills and knowledge.”
Kate Austin Stanford (MPA/MPH ’15)
“Skills that I learned and gained in graduate school, I’ve used in the private sector as well as in the public sector. That includes quantitative analysis and strong writing skills, as well as the ability to interpret data and research findings and then translate them from academia into more plain language – this makes research and learning accessible across different audiences.”
Shushan Xu, MIPA
Hometown Wuhan, China Undergraduate education Double degree in social work (Central China Normal University) and finance (Wuhan University) Why the La Follette School? I was attracted to the La Follette School because of its expertise …
Rachel Ramthun, MPA, MS in Urban and Regional Planning
“The abundance of networking opportunities has allowed me to speak with professionals about their careers to determine if it is something I might enjoy, and a few conversations I’ve had have resulted in internship offers.”