Current position and employer: Design and Research Fellow with the US Digital Corps; Dept. of Health and Human Services / Facing Financial Shock Life Experience Team

Hometown: Mooresville, NC

Current city: Washington, DC

Why did you choose McCourt? I chose McCourt because of its location and proximity to national and international policymaking communities and because of the quality of professors at the school who share my interests in policy, administration, and government. More broadly, I chose to pursue a MPP degree because I knew I wanted to add quantitative analysis to my skillset and I wanted to engage in innovative, bigger-picture ways of thinking and planning in my career.

What professional/ work experience did you have prior to coming to McCourt? Before attending McCourt, I worked as a special projects assistant at the City of Burlington, N.C. through the Lead for North Carolina Fellowship, a state affiliate of Lead for America housed by the UNC-CH School of Government. After completing graduate coursework taught by the School's MPA faculty, my focus areas in Burlington involved its American Rescue Plan allocation, neighborhood development, and racial equity initiatives, among (many) other things.

What was the best part of your experience? Meeting so many new people from across the country and around the world while making DC my home!

What internship did you have during your time at McCourt?

• Prolegis (legislative technology company) Research Assistant
• McCourt faculty Research Assistant
• National League of Cities (NLC) Graduate Intern
• Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation Student Analyst, Digital Benefits Network and Digital Service Network

Student organization involvement while at McCourt: McCourt Student Association (MSA), The Policy Innovation Lab, and the Georgetown Technology Policy Initiative (GTPI)

Undergraduate University, degree, and major: Elon University, International and Global Studies

Hobbies/ Interests: I enjoy being part of local running communities in DC.