What are some of your goals and priorities this year as the new president of the La Follette School Student Association?
My goals and priorities for this year are rooted in the LSSA board’s shared values of accountability, respect, collaboration, and inclusivity. As president, I aim to make LSSA more accountable to students by creating more opportunities to hear their needs and through shaping events around student interests, all while strengthening two-way communication channels with La Follette staff. By taking a student-feedback approach to event planning, LSSA can respond quickly to student interests, celebrate each other’s experiences, and make everyone at La Follette feel included.
We are also building a student organization network with other policy-focused student organizations across UW-Madison. Through this network, La Follette students will have more opportunities to plug in with professional development opportunities beyond our program, connect with like-minded students, and work together on shared priority issues. Lastly, we are committed to improving communication systems to increase student awareness of upcoming events. Integrating LSSA communications with La Follette weekly newsletters and creating a shared calendar that students can easily integrate into their schedules are just a few of the ways we are working toward this goal. Through these initiatives, and others, I believe the LSSA board can foster a stronger, integrated, and connected community of students, staff, and faculty more than ever before at La Follette.
What are some of the main responsibilities of your position?
My main responsibilities as president include representing student interests to the greater La Follette community, gauging and communicating the perspectives, concerns, and interests of students, strategic planning for LSSA initiatives, chairing the LSSA Executive Board, serving on La Follette’s ABCD committee, supporting La Follette School orientation and Visit Day and trying to make the La Follette student experience the best it can be.
What interested you in running for LSSA president this year?
I wanted to give back to the community that built me up and supported me since day one. As a native Kentuckian, I had reservations about how I would adjust to living in a new place. However, the La Follette community welcomed me with open arms, and I am thankful to have gotten to know so many of my great peers in such a short time. I believe our programs are at their best when our students are heard, cultures are celebrated, and people are passionate about policymaking. I wanted to help make that belief a reality by running for LSSA president.
What type of career would you like to pursue after graduation? How do you think a La Follette education will help you with this?
After graduation, I will be pursuing a career that bridges evidence-based results, innovation, and design elements, ideally in technology policy to improve government technology systems. A La Follette education is preparing me for this career by honing my quantitative skills to conduct data-centered analyses, teaching best practices for public management, and providing hands-on opportunities to practice leadership and collaboration through real client-based projects. My La Follette education equips me with technical skills, policy knowledge, and the ability to explore skills specific to my career journey to develop solutions to real-world needs.
What does it mean to you to be a La Follette student?
Being a La Follette student means I’m part of a community that values public service and positive changemaking. It’s about applying rigorous policy analysis skills and the human impact behind the numbers too. It is also about friendship, learning from one another, and being able to lean on our peers when we need help. It feels like a once-in-a-lifetime connection, where we are all here at this point in time because we care about the future, and want to grow alongside future leaders who are impassioned by public service.