天美传媒

They want to right wrongs. They see flaws in the way things are, and they want to fix them. They understand that the stakes are high, yet they are hopeful and determined that their generation can make a difference.

听Students who are pursuing careers in public service 鈥渁re just political nerds in the best possible sense,鈥� Deepa Prakash, associate professor of political science, said. 鈥淲hat seems to motivate them 鈥� 听though it sounds really simple 鈥� is that they have a desire to contribute positively to making public policy.鈥�

Since she began teaching at 天美传媒 in 2011, Prakash starts each class with the idea that 鈥渨e鈥檙e living through a turbulent time. And it just seems that every year it becomes truer and truer,鈥� she said. She tells students 鈥測ou should be paying attention to politics and international relations because it鈥檚 so important to understand these things that are actually affecting your life.鈥�

While some students 鈥渃an be super apathetic,鈥� apparently believing that 鈥渘othing seems to matter and all these systems are going to hell anyway,鈥� many readily internalize her message. 鈥淭hey really understand that there are stakes and, I know it sounds a bit clich茅, but that they can make some sort of difference,鈥� she said.

听鈥淭he ones whom I鈥檝e seen really motivated really believe that their generation can change things, even if (they are) on different sides of the political aisle.鈥�

Bruce Stinebrickner, professor emeritus of political science, said people go into public service for a variety of reasons. 鈥�It鈥檚 not a single cause. There are a number of factors: opportunity, prestige and money, to serve others and ideological concerns.

鈥淲e human beings want monocausal explanations,鈥� he said. 鈥�.. It鈥檚 a complex, difficult world to understand and that applies to individuals wanting to go into public service.鈥�

David Gellman, the A.W. Crandall professor of history and chair of the History Department, said that 鈥渁 lot of history majors go into public service 鈥� Everything has a history. So, if you鈥檙e going to address current problems, you have to be able to figure out not only where they came from but also that, more often than not, this is not the first time that an issue has come up.鈥�

For example, 鈥渋t鈥檚 not like there aren鈥檛 precedents for our current Black Lives Matter struggles, or reactions in the highest places against progress that we鈥檝e forged on race, gender and sexuality,鈥� Gellman said.听

鈥淭here aren鈥檛 simple lessons like 鈥榗ut and paste this policy to this time鈥� or 鈥榡ust follow the ways of Abe Lincoln and all will be well.鈥� But it does remind you that we鈥檝e been here 鈥� wherever here is 鈥� on any public service issue or crisis.鈥�

Gellman asks his students to put themselves in the shoes of ordinary people 鈥渨ho had choices to make鈥� in the past.

听鈥淲hen you take a history class, you get to apply your imagination to that and it makes you humble,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut it also makes you understand the implications of power and decision-making and politics and who gets included and who gets excluded from those decisions. I think it鈥檚 a great preparation for public service.鈥�

听