This winter break, the La Follette School hosted a range of career events aimed at promoting student networking and preparing students for success in the career paths they are about to embark on. As the current job market, emergence of AI, and other factors contribute to uncertainty for graduates, the La Follette School places special emphasis on ensuring that both undergraduate and graduate students have access to resources that support career exploration and employment after graduation.
Building on this focus, La Follette hosted its first Career Possibilities Week in early January, which featured eight different virtual sessions on a variety of career topics, ranging from careers in lobbying, advocacy, and things you can do with a public policy degree. All topics were chosen in advance by La Follette students. “We were able to connect nearly 100 La Follette students with over 30 alums joining from as far away as Hawaii, all working in a wide range of policy roles,” said Marie Koko, director of career and employer services at the La Follette School. The structured video calls enabled students not only to participate from anywhere in the world but also to interact and ask pressing career questions on their minds.
Later in January, more than two dozen students from the graduate program embarked on a three-day trip to the Minneapolis–St. Paul area. The career trip featured four site visits, an alumni and friends’ reception, and an alumni panel. Current students connected with roughly thirty alumni and friends of the school currently working in the Twin Cities. La Follette alum Nick Lardinois, director of budget policy and analysis (MPA ’16), hosted students at his current employer, Minnesota Management and Budget, for one of the site visits. “It was inspiring and rewarding to meet with so many bright and motivated students who want to learn how they can best impact public policy to improve their communities,” Lardinois said.
The experience provided La Follette graduate students with a professional network based in the Twin Cities and a tangible look at how alumni have applied their La Follette degree. Morgan Pincombe, a current second-year MIPA student, was one of the 26 students who participated in the trip. “La Follette’s visit to Minnesota gave me a meaningful snapshot of government structure and careers in a state beyond Wisconsin. I enjoyed seeing how experts on public budgets, transit systems, and more are drawing on their La Follette School training in their roles and getting a sense of the strong alumni community in the Twin Cities.” Pincombe said. Another second-year MIPA student, Abby Buschette appreciated the variety of career opportunities and pathways on display during the trip. “Hearing from a number of individuals who all had unique experiences that brought them to the role they are in today reaffirmed that there is no one right career path and sometimes the role you never planned for will end up being your favorite,” Buschette said.
Next month, the La Follette School will continue its focus on connecting students with alumni employers through another slate of career events, notably extending the successful Eat & Greet series into another semester. These events center on introducing current students to alumni working in a range of policy areas and fields of interest. The next installment will center on environmental policy and will be held in partnership with the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies on January 30 at Steenbock’s in the Discovery Building. Check out other Eat & Greets.
– Story by MPA student Grace Florence