Alumni

From STEM to Service: Paula Norato (MPA ‘22) on the Path to Public Administration

Paula Norato (MPA ’22) enrolled in the School of Public Policy’s graduate program during the start of Covid. Through her IPP placement with Partners for Educational Leadership, she saw how statewide support systems operate behind the scenes to support schools and began to understand the broader impact of public service.  “The MPA helped me not only with long-term, strategic thinking and relationship-building, but also with the confidence to show up for myself in all areas,” Paula says…

Lessons in Humanity: MPA Grad Gains Insights from Norway’s Correctional Model

 “We all have this perception of what an incarcerated person looks like,” said Chidi Nwuneli, a 2025 MPA graduate of UConn’s School of Public Policy and the current Grants and Contracts Specialist at the Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division of Connecticut’s Office of Policy and Management (OPM). “In Norway, the focus is on humanizing the person, not the punishment.”

Post-Graduate Spotlight: A Two-Year Research Journey with the Boston Federal Reserve

Nick Hall graduated from UConn in May 2023 with a degree in Economics and Political Science and earned his Master of Public Policy a year later. Thanks to the SPP’s outreach and networking opportunities, soon after his May 2024 graduation, he began a two-year research associate position with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston…