What a weekend!

Thanks to the amazing generosity of a Maxwell alumnus, 11 of us in the MPA cohort flew out to Seattle last weekend for a local government management networking trip.  If you aren’t realizing how incredible of an opportunity this was, well, maybe I should have mentioned that we received a grant to attend!

The International City/Council Management Association (ICMA) conference was geared for those with interests in becoming city managers or working at the local level.  A Maxwell alumnus by the name of Wally Bobkiewicz (current city manager for Evanston, Illinois) coordinated a “meet-and-greet” reception and lunch for us to connect with alumni who graduated in the 1970’s all the way to this past June.
As expected, we took full advantage of the opportunity to explore the city like the proud tourists we were.  Some of that time was spent sightseeing the historic downtown Seattle area; places such as Pike Place Market, the Gum Wall, and the Space Needle were all terrific to visit.  Needless to say we visited the original Starbucks.  A trip to Seattle isn’t done right if Starbucks isn’t involved, right?
Some of the highlights of the trip?  Well, I met an ICMA member who graduated from the same high school I did, seven years before me!  (We are both alumni of Arcadia High School in the Pasadena, California area. Go Apaches!)  What a crazy world, for us to have connected in Seattle of all places.  She currently works in Los Angeles County government as an analyst.  I also connected with a Maxwell alumnus who is currently the city manager of West Covina, a neighboring city to the town that I was born and raised in.  Our MPA squad also met many members of the University of Southern California’s ICMA chapter, and talked about opening doors for those interested in ending up on the other coasts.  It was a great opportunity to bridge the gap for those in USC’s Price School MPA program who wanted to end up in New York City, and vice versa for Maxwell students who want to end up on the West Coast.

One of our classmates got her foot in the door for a potential job interview just because she lives in Bakersfield, California—she connected with the city manager of a neighboring city called Arvin.  It turns out they are hiring!

Overall, I’m so glad I made the decision to attend the conference, even if it meant missing a day’s worth of classes.  The Maxwell alumni emphasized over and over again: it’s not about the grades anymore, but rather, getting the job, so that you can actually apply the skill-sets that you develop from the program to the real world.

*Pictures taken by Brianna Carrier and Simone Depew.