Four McCourt Students Selected as Presidential Management Fellows
Established by Executive Order in 1977, the Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) was created to attract outstanding citizen-scholars to Federal service. The program provides fellows with a two-year appointment, and a fast-paced opportunity to gain valuable experience.
Established by Executive Order in 1977, the Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) was created to attract outstanding citizen-scholars to Federal service. The program provides fellows with a two-year appointment, and a fast-paced opportunity to gain valuable experience.
This year, four McCourt students and alum were selected as Presidential Management Fellows Finalists for the class of 2018: Fernando Castro-Alvarez (MPP’18), Sakari Deichsel (MIDP’18), Harper Sutherland (MPP’18), and Thomas Wind (MPP’16).
“I enrolled at McCourt and applied for the PMF because I believe that informed policy making can make a positive difference in others’ lives. I feel lucky to have this opportunity, because I know that we, as graduate students and young employees, are in a time of greater unpredictability about the availability of jobs within the federal government,” Sutherland explained.
Deishsel hopes this fellowship will land him a job with USAID or another international development-focused agency where he can apply the economic and quantitative skills that he’s learned at McCourt.
“The prospect of being part of an organization that has the power to do so much good in the world – and to be in a position to influence decisions about how that power is used – would be a tremendous privilege,” he said.
Castro-Alvarez is looking for work opportunities with the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, or the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“I plan to utilize the skills acquired through this program to begin my own consulting firm in the near future.”
These McCourters find themselves in a highly exclusive and prestigious group of finalists – only 425 were selected out of 6,040 applicants.
The finalists will now be able to attend a PMF Career Fair where they will have the opportunity to interview for opportunities with their desired government agencies. Upon successful completion of the Fellowship, they are eligible to transition into full-time government positions.