The DC career exploration trip, a long-standing annual tradition organized by the Ford School's Career Services, took place on February 6 and 7. This year’s trip saw over 80 graduate and undergraduate students—the largest group of student participants to date—gather to explore a wide array of policy careers in Washington, DC. The event provided an invaluable opportunity to engage with Ford School alumni and other professionals working across a diverse range of sectors including public, private, and nongovernmental/intergovernmental organizations.
Over the course of both days, students had the opportunity to register for and attend twelve different events, covering a broad spectrum of policy topics such as navigating transitions in administration, consulting, research and think tanks, international organizations, government relations, health and human services, strategic communications, education, energy and environment, international policy, and social policy. These panels offered participants insights into the varied roles and challenges faced by professionals in DC, while providing key advice on shaping careers in the policy field.
Each panel featured groups of alumni representing a range of organizations, including NGOs, international institutions, private sector companies, consulting firms, the U.S. federal government, and think tanks. Students had the opportunity to hear firsthand from 36 different organizations working in these diverse environments, with each session providing valuable perspectives on the alums’ career trajectories, current day-to-day responsibilities and skills to be successful across the policy landscape.
On Thursday evening, the networking reception and policy talk brought together more than 200 attendees. The event kicked off with a keynote presentation by Don Moynihan, J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy, who discussed politicization and the role of the administrative state under a new leadership.
On state capacity, Moynihan remarked “If things are going well, we often are not thinking about the way in which government works. It’s only when it starts to crumble that we pay much more attention to it. Good government takes decades and potentially centuries to develop, but you can also undermine it relatively quickly. So it’s fragile in that respect.”
The career exploration days not only provided students with an in-depth look at careers in public policy, but also gave students a chance to experience what it is like to live and work in the nation’s capital. By attending the career panels and networking with Ford School alumni, students gained a greater understanding of the opportunities available to them as they prepare to enter careers in policy.
