If you are considering attending the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse, it’s worth reading through the articles on this blog to learn more about what the student experience is really like once you’re here. If you’re an incoming student, keep reading to hear some advice from a current student.
Often, it can be hard to get a sense of what being at a certain school is actually like, even if you come visit in person for a weekend. Beyond that, you’re surely asking yourself how you would benefit from an MPA or MAIR or joint-degree or how you can use it to advance your future career path.
So while you imagine what the Maxwell experience would be like for you, let me offer some tips for how to get the most out of your time here pursuing an advanced degree.
- Meet People!
The number one way to get the most out of your time here studying, is to meet people. If your experience is at all like mine has been so far, your graduate cohort will be one of the best support systems you’ve ever had.
Be open to forming new relationships and friendships with the nearly 200 students that will be a part of your cohort. They are equally passionate about helping others in the world and after you all graduate, they will become an important part of your personal and professional network. Enjoy the time you have at school together because it flies by and we wouldn’t be able to make it through in one piece without the help of each other.
You will also have the opportunity to meet professors whether or not you take their classes and they represent a great repository of experience and expertise. Most of the professors at Maxwell are also personally involved in the world of policy and government so they offer a unique perspective that should not be overlooked while you’re here! They will also serve as a source of recommendations and it has astonished myself and my classmates how willing they are to help in any way they can, whether it’s with classwork or learning about issues outside of the classroom.
- Take Advantage of Opportunities
Maxwell offers a lot of fantastic opportunities while you are here and it’s important you take advantage of them during the brief year or two you’ll be studying. There are visiting scholars that come to give seminars, filmmakers, activists, and diplomats (both former and current) that come on an almost weekly basis as part of events hosted by the various departments and offices that make up the Maxwell school.
You’ll never feel like you have enough time to enjoy it all and most likely you won’t because of everything else you have going on, but make sure to make time for those events that you are most interested in or those that provide you with opportunities to network and meet professionals working in your area of interest.
Networking is not many people’s cup of tea but it is a (perhaps unpleasant) truth that it will be important in almost any career path you choose and it will serve you exceedingly well during your time studying an MPA or MAIR that you take advantage of the many opportunities that you will encounter while you’re here.
Just some examples of these events are the Deloitte challenge and the ICMA Conference that took place in September that the school helped us participate in if we wanted to. These provided people with the opportunity to learn more about working in the private sector as a consultant and about working in state and local government.
Lastly, this applies to fun opportunities too! Go hiking. Support Syracuse at a sporting event. Take a gym class with friends. Start a board game or trivia night. Don’t forget to enjoy yourself!
- Push Yourself to Grow
You only have so much time while you’re here. The one-year MPA or MAIR program flies by (can’t believe it’s almost Thanksgiving!) and the MPA-MAIR dual program has you away from school for one whole semester of your second year to work in an internship. It’s important that you stretch yourself and step outside your comfort zone so you can learn new skills and discover new information and perspectives.
I myself am not a quantitatively-inclined individual but I find myself enjoying studying statistics and economics (at least on most days) because it gives me new insight into issues I was already interested in and that is why we are in school after all – to learn! The best way to learn is to challenge yourself and pursue those opportunities and friendships that will help you become a more well-rounded and well-versed individual that the professional world can’t resist hiring.
Even though we all want a job and most of us will be working within a couple months of graduation, it’s important we make the effort to get the most out of our time here so that it will continue to be a period we look back on with fondness and pride for many years to come.
So remember when you are thinking about how to make the most of your Maxwell experience, meet people and make friends, take advantage of opportunities (both work and play), and push yourself to grow! There’s always so much more to learn.