New UNC MPA student Rebecca Gilbert eager to advance her work with nonprofits with new skillset

We sat down with new student Rebecca Gilbert to learn more about why she’s here and where she’s going. Rebecca is a mid-career professional looking to gain new skills to take her career to the next level. She is taking two classes this semester and will be at our upcoming weekend Immersion in October.

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina 

Undergrad Degree and Alma Mater: Government and Politics, University of Maryland

Current job title/Employer: Associate State Director of Advocacy & Outreach, AARP North Carolina

Areas of Interest: Nonprofit Management, Local Government

Q: Why the MPA?  How did you decide it was the right degree for you and your career goals?      

I have worked for various nonprofits, focused on public service at the local level, throughout my 14+ year professional career. I always felt that there was a missing piece of educational expertise that would take me to the next level, enabling me to develop new public programs and scale existing ones. The MPA degree will allow me to learn how to more effectively improve the lives of the people in the communities I serve. 

Q: There are lots of places out there to get your MPA.  How did you end up at Carolina?

I have lived in Charlotte, North Carolina for five years, and upon moving here it immediately felt like home. Obtaining the MPA degree at UNC Chapel Hill feels like a natural fit. It will allow me to form lasting North Carolina based connections and relationships to become more engrained in the state advocacy and local government framework. 

Q: Is there a class or professor or experience you are looking forward to in the program?

I am most excited about the immersion courses, and am signed up for the Fall 2024 immersion class “AI and Public Administration”. As an online student who lives just a two hour drive from Chapel Hill, the immersion classes seem like a great way to connect to other students and campus, while feeling like part of the larger UNC Chapel Hill student body.  I look forward to learning in a traditional classroom setting as well as the opportunity to work with students of varying backgrounds and work experiences. 

Q: Last question for fun, what are you currently reading or listening to?

As a hobby jogger and perpetual multitasker who likes to learn as they run, I always have a podcast playing in my AirPods. I love NPR’s “How I Built This” with Guy Raz, because I’m fascinated by innovation. He interviews individuals who have started businesses, nonprofits, and pursued ideas that many thought would fail. He always asks a question of the interviewee at the conclusion of each episode that goes something like “How much of your success is due to your skill and hard work and how much is due to luck?”  Usually, interviewees attribute most of their success to being in the right place at the right time, solving a specific problem that no one had found a solution for yet. I equate this to work in local governments and nonprofits. One has to be willing to be creative, seek out opportunities, and sometimes fail, before achieving eventual success. The resilience of the entrepreneurs in each episode is inspiring, and empowers me to never give up as I try to solve both large and small scale public issues.