By Lily Mullen
Over the past six months, I had the incredible opportunity to intern with the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) as a strategy and evaluation intern in their Teaching & Learning department. This role offered me skills beyond my professional toolkit, including a broader perspective of public policy education, curiosity about how to update and innovate, and how to strengthen personal connections.
As part of my role, I sat on NASPAA’s Teaching & Learning Committee which included twelve members from institutions teaching public policy and administration from across the country. I found it deeply engaging to listen to each committee member discuss topics that are relevant to what is taught in Master of Public Administration (MPA) programs right now, as well as navigate in real-time topics like artificial intelligence, how to modernize teaching tools, and what resources NASPAA can offer instructors. As a current MPA student, I found it enlightening to engage in these topics since they directly connect to what I’m currently experiencing at the Evans School.
The culminating project of my internship was creating and presenting a strategy memo outlining my recommendations for focus and next steps for the Teaching & Learning committee, and for NASPAA as an organization, specifically on their teaching and learning development goals. This was truly rewarding because I was able to learn more about what innovative and experiential resources exist within NASPAA, along with related institutions to support schools in teaching public policy and administration. As a current student, this was interesting knowledge to collect and compare to my own experience in the MPA program at the Evans School.
In addition, this September, I co-created and facilitated a workshop at the 2026 NASPAA Global Conference in Seattle. I planned alongside faculty from the University of Denver, Georgia Southern University, and Rutgers University—all of whom are well established in their teaching careers. I appreciated how collaborative the process was; and felt like a professional peer or colleague, rather than a student intern. At the workshop, we had faculty and educators from programs across the country, and a few from international institutions who participated in discussion centered around teaching public policy topics in innovative ways in an ever-changing social landscape.
These discussions offered an insightful glimpse of how educators are crafting their course topics and methods intentionally while maintaining relevancy and interest of the students. Engaging in these discussions and collecting feedback was invigorating as I not only witnessed but participated in real-time action that affects the landscape of teaching programs like the MPA.
Both the facilitated discussions and personal conversations I had at the NASPAA conference left me feeling empowered in my decision to pursue my MPA and my experience at the Evans School. I also now have a greater sense of curiosity and passion for topics within public service, whether that be education-based or practice-based, as I saw how intertwined these topics are.
At orientation for the MPA program, we discuss imposter syndrome and how it is critical to allow ourselves to feel legitimate and recognize our professional wins as we achieve them—which can be especially tricky as the youngest in the room. One of the key features of my time with NASPAA was that I was fully included right from the start. My role as an intern was clear, but I had space to present updates at every team or committee meeting during my term, was invited to give feedback that was received and implemented, and was empowered to be independent in my projects and to bring in my own perspective and positionality. This strengthened my confidence in professional settings and allowed me to grow in personal endeavors—such as in my role as president of the Evans Student Organization.
Having the immersion of non-profit processes, leadership, and collaboration has already spread through my roles in this next chapter of my MPA experience in how I connect with my student peers, faculty at Evans, Evans Alumni, and the community. I am grateful for the experience of connecting and working alongside such a collaborative team and applying the skills I’ve learned and built at Evans in a setting that has a meaningful impact on the future of public service.