News: Students

La Follette School students Patrick Landers and Vanessa Studer along with Casey Hutchison (MIPA ’18) and Danny Benson (MPA ’17) advanced as finalists in the highly competitive Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) program. 

The La Follette School published its second annual Highlights report in November 2018. The document showcases the many achievements of the school’s students, faculty, alumni, and staff during the 2017-18 academic year.

David Axelrod shared his deeply personal connection with health care reform during a 90-minute conversation with La Follette School students September 28. As a senior adviser to President Barack Obama, Axelrod understood the political risks of the issue and was deeply conflicted about it.

Nearly half of La Follette School alumni in the Class of 2008 gathered in Madison from September 14 to 16 to celebrate its 10-year reunion. Joining them were approximately 25 children and 15 guests.

The La Follette School of Public Affairs is hosting a live video chat for prospective students Monday, October 29 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. (CST). Academic and career counselors as well as a La Follette School student will be available to answer questions about admissions, classes, careers, funding, student life, the city of Madison, and other topics.

With 52 students, the La Follette School’s 2018 cohort includes a practicing physician, the founder of a nonprofit organization, an award-winning playwright, two nurses, a newspaper editor, a police officer, three military veterans, and people with a wide range of other experiences.

Katie Lorenze (MIPA ’14) joined the La Follette School of Public Affairs as department administrator on Monday, August 13. Lorenze replaces Steve Kulig (MPA ’14), who became associate director in May.

Instead of making flashcards of political theories for my Policy Making Process midterm, I spent an hour listening to Sarah Stillman describe how she investigates stories of immigrants whose experiences can only leave deep questions about the efficacy of the policies that shape them. Certainly, her stories must have resonated with my classmates who soon were tested on how well they understood the ways that narratives shape policy discussion and implementation.

La Follette School student Abby Swetz presented her one-person play, An UnCommon Core, at the 2018 Fresh Fruit Festival MainStage in New York in July. The hour-long play recounts one heartbreaking year in her middle-school teaching career.

Alumni, friends, students, faculty, and staff will gather Tuesday, September 4 for the La Follette School’s annual Hill Fest welcome picnic. Hill Fest will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on the beautiful La Follette grounds overlooking Lake Mendota at 1225 Observatory Drive.