Recently we caught up with School of Public Policy (SPP) Master of Public Policy (MPP) student Yara Medawar. Learn about Yara’s summer in her own words below!

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During this summer I am working with the Office of Early College Programs as a Program Coordinator for UConn Pre-College Summer (PCS). My role consists of planning the co-curriculum for the PCS program, mainly developing and coordinating over 90 professional development workshops for the entire program throughout 4 weeks.

For some context, PCS is a summer opportunity designed for rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors that are starting to think about researching and applying to colleges in the near future. Our program serves as an exploratory experience where students will gain an understanding of the college classroom with engaging University faculty and explore nuances and areas of college life while on campus. In addition to our diverse courses such as Leadership, Pre-Law, Public health, Environmental Conservation, etc… students are also attending exploratory workshops. SPP is getting involved this year with PCS by facilitating a career workshop titled “Exploring Public Policy” in which students will explore how to become leaders in the fields of public policy, public management, nonprofit management, and survey research.

While I had previous experience in teaching and project management in higher education institutions abroad and with the School of Engineering, I must admit that my first year in the MPP program and the “Leadership and Public Management” certificate really helped to prepare me for this role. The skillsets I’m learning with SPP are definitely setting me up to become an innovative leader and an effective Project Manager and I’m looking forward to enhancing my skill sets more during the next academic year.