Established by the class of 2010, the Policy and Administration Graduate Council (PAGC) provides avenues that help MPPA students become part of a coherent and integrated community that works and plays together. Specifically, PAGC provides social, public service, academic and professional development events that promote community and individual growth.
In order to foster community and social cohesion, PAGC hosts social events including outings to local restaurants, pub trivia nights, hikes in the nearby mountains (or “hills” to our west coast friends), intramural sports teams, and annual BBQ-picnics.
Graduate school can keep students very busy: even the most service-oriented student may feel like there is little time for individual volunteering. PAGC organizes community service events so that MPPA students can maintain their dedication to public service while completing graduate work. Last year, for example, a large PAGC group participated in a local charitable fun run—the “Hot Chocolate Run” in Northampton—and will sponsor a group again this December. A PAGC group also volunteered with Tapestry Health (a local public health non-profit), tabling in the UMass Student Union and volunteering at their office in nearby Greenfield to sign up individuals for Massachusetts’s new public insurance program (MassHealth).
CPPA and the MPPA program provide opportunities for professional development and academic engagement . PAGC supplements these by providing experience and knowledge to students that might fall outside the structured curriculum and department-sponsored programs. Last year’s PAGC professional development events included hosting a speaker from the E.U., co-sponsoring seminars in public speaking skills, and participation in the UMass etiquette dinner.
PAGC provides students additional opportunities to engage with the CPPA community. It also provides an organized venue for graduate students to play a leadership role in the department and in the University as a whole.
-Anna Tomaskovic-Devey, President, Policy and Administration Graduate Council
