690 Miles

690 miles is the distance between Chicago and Syracuse, a 13-hour stretch I grew familiar with as I took the train home for Thanksgiving. I missed the sight of the skyline, the sound of old friends laughing, and the taste of Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza.

View of the Chicago skyline from the Amtrak train window.
View of the Chicago skyline from the Amtrak train window.

Despite the joy of the past, the unexpected happened: I missed my friends at Maxwell. When the train rolled back into Syracuse, it was not the past that comforted me but the present.

Without hesitation, a fellow MPA classmate volunteered to pick me up when I asked him for a ride. The whole car ride was filled with laughter because – without even having to say anything – we both wore looks of exhaustion.

We were exhausted from the fact that the upcoming statistics final exam will be tough; multiple group projects are due next week; and those term papers and memos will not write themselves.

Through it all, we laughed due to the unexpected relief of not having to explain why those things matter. We knew that our futures depended on us mastering these courses. This was something he and I took for granted when we were away with family and friends back at home.

The MPA: A Shared Experience

The MPA at the Maxwell School is a shared experienced – a reality that I cherish. Perhaps the best example of the shared experience comes from learning R: a programming language for statistical analysis and graphics.

Think of it like Excel. Now eliminate the grid and the tiny formula bar at the top that shows your calculations. Replace it with a blank slate that allows you to analyze data and export your analysis via PDF, an online dashboard, or reproducible code you can share with others for help.

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Screenshot of what R looks like to many users inside the RStudio environment.

Transitioning from point-and-click to a blank slate is rough. I’ve never had this much freedom in producing graphics or an ability to easily show the steps taken in an analysis. It isn’t easy but I know with time I’ll hone this skill.

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Side-by-side comparison of a 2013 New York Times’s interactive graphic (left) and my attempt to recreate it in R (right).

In two weeks, my classmates and I will present a dashboard visualizing a January 2015 dataset regarding the New York City bike-sharing system. Earlier today, we met for an hour half exploring the dataset together, creating individual GitHub accounts, and planning when to meet again as we set out on building dynamic visualizations with an interactive map.

Conversations about widgets, colors, and merging datasets is the epitome of being nerdy. But I know if I stay the course, such statistics and visuals will be a vital tool in advocating for evidence-based policy in the future. Sharing this experience with other beginners makes this learning curve a whole lot easier to overcome.

Looking Ahead to Spring 2017

As I prepare to repeat that 13-hour train ride once again, I will be leaving Syracuse with much hope for the future. I knew in June 2017 I would be leaving The Maxwell School with an MPA degree; I didn’t know I’d be leaving with friends who I could laugh with or commiserate with over the right way to calculate a t-statistic.

Opportunities Outside the Classroom

The Edward R. Murrow program is an exchange program administered by the U.S. Department of State. The “Fellows” are international journalists selected by the U.S. Department of State for a three-week exchange here in the United States. This year’s participants hailed from Central and South East Asia—from places like Nepal, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, and more. The point is to expose these international journalists to the important role of independent media in fostering and protecting freedom of expression and democracy.

But the State Department can’t do this alone. So the department partners with leading schools of journalism and international relations to host the participants.

Fellows, administrators, and interns pose for a group picture at the farewell dinner. Photo by Jay Poudyal.
Fellows, administrators, interns, and PD students pose for a group picture at the farewell dinner. Photo by Jay Poudyal.

Enter: the Newhouse and Maxwell Schools.

Last week, Maxwell and Newhouse hosted the Edward R. Murrow Fellows here in Syracuse. As a Public Diplomacy (MAIR/MS PR) student and journalism nerd, this was a dream come true. Public Diplomacy professionals, at our core, are relationship builders. PD is a field based on two-way communication with the goal of promoting understanding and positive sentiment for the future. Hosting the Fellows in Syracuse was PD in action.

The only reason I was able to get involved with the Fellows is because of the opportunities afforded to me by the Maxwell and Newhouse schools. Maxwell houses the National Security Studies program, the Syracuse office with which the Fellows have the most interaction and where I am an intern. As an intern, I was able to assist in the execution of this program while still putting my studies first.

Journalists in ponchos--Fellows bused from Syracuse to Niagara Falls! Photo by Dhanushka Ramanayake.
Journalists in ponchos! Fellows travelled from Syracuse to Niagara Falls. Photo by Dhanushka Ramanayake.

Maxwell and Newhouse made sure that all PD students—interns or not—were involved in the visit, inviting us to dinners and workshops. We PD students were able to see first hand the direct impact our exchanges have on foreign publics and on the United States. Not only have these exchanges affected our world-views, but they have also allowed us to forge lasting relationships with foreign professionals that will undoubtedly extend into the future.

As cool and unique as this opportunity was, things like this are a common occurrence for a graduate student here at Syracuse.

So you want a Masters of Public Administration.

On the first day of Public Administration and Democracy, Professor Tina Nabatchi asked us students, “What is Public Administration?” The only thing you heard in the room was the humming of the AC as no one had a quick and definite answer to her question. As I approach the end of the semester, let us take the time to reflect on what I have learned about Public Administration and what this degree consists of!

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