One-fourth of Princeton SPIA undergraduates are student-athletes, and Parnagian encouraged them to be creative in how they bring together their varied interests.
“I’m excited to see what the current generation of policy students is going to do with their own opportunities to make a difference at a time when I think a lot of creative solutions are needed,” she said.
With about 100 students in attendance throughout the day, Public Service Career Day served as an opportunity for them to ask candid questions and learn about potential career paths. Dean Amaney Jamal and General (Ret.) Mark A Milley ’80 helped set the stage at the start of the day.
“Today’s program is about drawing attention to the many ways you can serve and how to enter into public service in the first place,” Jamal said.
Milley emphasized that point, saying that working for the government is just one way of serving the country, which also needs people who run banks or develop technology, for example.
“[Public service] is some capacity or some duty or some job in which you are intentionally serving others. It’s not just about yourself,” he told students. “There’s a calling somewhere inside of you that says, ‘I want to help others,’ and that’s important. That’s a little flame that’s burning inside of you that needs to stay ignited.”
An alumni panel followed, with several breakout sessions later in the day where students had the chance to ask specific questions related to paths they are exploring.
In the session on local and state government careers, for example, a student asked about how to translate federal experience in national security to the state level. Other topics raised during the sessions included work-life balance, ongoing professional development, and late-in-life career pivots.
“Through this event, we wanted to showcase that careers are never linear. Where you start does not dictate where you will end up, and staying curious and passionate about what you do is what makes a career worthwhile,” said Elizabeth Choe, program director and director of undergraduate career services at Princeton SPIA. “Hopefully, this kind of exposure helps students see what is possible.”