Last semester!

Hello and welcome back to a new semester! This semester is extra-special for me because it is my LAST ONE! Crazy. One of my favorite authors, Gretchen Reuben, often comments that, “The days are long, but the years are short.” This applies to all areas of life and is no less true about my grad school experience.

I had a wonderful winter break, as I hope you all did, and I am already looking forward to Spring Break, if for no other reason than a break from the cold we’ve had here!

We are already two weeks into the semester now and I’m really enjoying all my classes. On Monday nights I have public policy, which I have been anticipating since I started the program. We had the option to do a research paper or a service learning project; I signed up for the project. Four team members and I will be working with an organization to evaluate the effectiveness of Early Childhood Education initiatives through cost-benefit analyses and possibly do some forecasting. I am really excited about this as this is one of my main areas of interest. Every couple of weeks the Capstone class meets on Tuesday nights. Capstone is usually associated with a major project but there are a couple of other components, as well, which include professional development, resume and interview techniques, and a portfolio reflecting on your MPA experience. In terms of the major project, my partner and I are (we think!) staying on top of things. Last week we met with the NAMI CC Executive Director, attended a support group meeting, and tomorrow, we are attending a different recovery group meeting for comparison and ideas. We have continued to work on our application to the Internal Review Board and drafting our survey questions. We hope to submit that next week. My last class of the week meets on Wednesday nights, Organizational Behavior and Theory. So far I am really enjoying the class and the instructor, who has a TON of international experience, so cool! My group wanted to get our presentation out of the way early, so we’re presenting organizations as machines next week.

In other news, the newsletter came out this week! Yay! You can check it out here: http://artscience.nku.edu/content/dam/psccj/docs/publicAdministration/2013%20Newsletter%2013.pdf. And, mark your calendars, the annual MPA-ASPA dinner is in two weeks on February 6. The guest speaker will be Rina Saperstein, Executive Director of Power Inspires Progress, 2006 MPA graduate and recipient of the 2012 PSC/CJ Outstanding Alumni Award.  Power Inspires Progress operates small businesses that provide paid on-the-job training to inner city residents who face obstacles pursuing and maintaining stable employment. Trainees gain the knowledge and experience necessary to be successful in the workforce. If you’re familiar with Venice on Vine, a delicious pizza eatery in OTR, Power Inspires Progress operates that!