Current UNC MPA student Jenna Kubiak continues work experience with state government

I am currently working on a couple of projects including getting out the newsletter, collecting success stories for future reference, and creating a summary of key issues in the state budget. So far, I have found my Professional Work Experience to be an incredibly rewarding and flexible internship with the state government. I feel that I am putting my academic experience in the MPA program to use in the PWE and withnessing first-hand how public administration theories are implemented outside of the classroom. Classes like the budgeting class have been extremely helpful in navigating funding and economic policies. I would say the biggest challenge in completing any PWE is to make sure that you have great time management skills, which is a must when working and completing school work at the same time. I personally use google calendar and categorize my calendar based on the topic (i.e., work, school, appointments). I also keep a running task list based on the priority of the task. For example, the newsletter is due at the end of each month so I try to do it ahead of time especially when I also have coursework due. The PWE has been so helpful in learning more about how state government works and exposing me to networking and giving me opportunity to practice balancing being a student while holding two part-time jobs. I recently finished my mid-experience check-in and I am looking forward to applying what I have learned in the PWE to my Applied Research Problem course!