In 750 words or less, describe yourself and your experience in the context of your decision to pursue the MPA degree and a public service career. What are your expectations of the MPA program in furthering your career objectives? Incorporate academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experiences, community and volunteer work, and any other factors relevant to your interest in public administration.
Effective policy is a powerful tool to reduce the structural imposition of suffering. Over the past few years, I have become increasingly interested in the ability of policy to affect progressive change. Because of this interest and my strong desire to develop more thoroughly my skills in policy analysis and public leadership, I am applying to the Master of Public Administration program at the Evans School.
My background and education have exposed me to a variety of demographics and cultural paradigms. I was raised with working-class homesteader roots in a small town in Alaska and later in rural Snohomish. After a difficult start following the death of my mother and the fracturing of my family during my junior year of high school, I completed my secondary education at Skidmore College. I studied a variety of topics related to policy analysis, including Applied Anthropology, 20th Century U.S. Civil Rights, and U.S. Government. I spent a semester on a cultural studies program in India where I conducted two three-week ethnographic research projects. For my senior capstone project at Skidmore, I conducted an additional semester of ethnographic research on the Buddhist communities in Saratoga Springs, New York. Inspired by the work in harm reduction policy of medical anthropologists such as Philippe Bourgois and Jon Zibbell, I came to see how social research and analytical thinking can be used to solve problems through effective data gathering and policy implementation.
During the summers of my undergraduate education, I worked on a commercial salmon fishing vessel in Alaska, helping run the vessel and supervising crew members. After graduation, I continued this seasonal work then moved to Buenos Aires for a residency at an art cooperative. I taught English, learned Spanish, and witnessed riotous public frustration with Argentinian governmental decision-making. This was followed by travel in South America, India, and additional work, seminars, and travel in Asia. Seeing policy results in different cultural arenas has helped me to think about how decisions are made locally. The contrast between health policies in Bihar and Sikkim states, for example, were particularly demonstrative of the public benefits of good policy.
Upon returning to Seattle two years ago, I became involved in non-profit and alternative housing organizations. I volunteer with Seattle Food Rescue, a waste-food donation organization, helping to coordinate volunteers, build social media presence, and organize events. I also was accepted into the Prag House Community, a 40 year-old alternative-energy cooperative on Capitol Hill. One year ago, I became the Treasurer for Prag House, administering our $100,000 annual budget, and was invited to join the Board of Directors of the Evergreen Land Trust (ELT), the governing entity of Prag House and six other cooperatives. I sit on the Outreach Committee of the ELT Board and have begun to modernize the digital footprint for both ELT and Prag in order to make information on alternative housing models available to a larger audience. Being part of the policy-creation process for these organizations has increased my desire to develop capacity in the field.
For the past year I have worked as the billing coordinator at Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson, a mid-size Seattle law firm. Witnessing the effect of top-down governmental and legal change in this job has broadened my perspective. Though I am involved with grassroots education and organizing, I recognize the power of policy and legislation to engender far-reaching change and I seek to learn the skills to be effective in these fields.
I am enthusiastic about the prospect of broadening my skills in analysis and administration in the Evans School. I bring an unique background and set of experiences to bear in areas of research and problem solving, and through my education, my exposure to diverse political, socioeconomic and cultural perspectives, my research experience, and my participation in nonprofit leadership, I have a solid core of knowledge and skills to excel in the MPA program. After completing the program at the Evans School, I plan to work in mission-driven research in the public or private sector, potentially for an organization such as FSG Social Impact Advisors or The National Bureau of Asian Research, with the goal of providing high-quality policy research for decision makers. I see the classes in leadership, management, quantitative methods and qualitative analysis as crucial to this goal, as well as the potential for research experience in groups like EPAR and the Research Symposium. I look forward to expanding my knowledge and contributing to the University of Washington and other organizations after.