Bailey Thompson | News Editor
As someone who is passionate about politics and working towards positive change in his community, student NJ Johnson has found that the public policy and administration major has just what he needs to help him achieve his goals. A sophomore at Western, Johnson is very involved on campus and appreciates having so many opportunities to expand on the skills he learns in the classroom.
“Growing up in a small town and going to a school with an atmosphere like Western, I’ve always had a passion for developing small communities,” said Johnson. “And I started out as a political science major when I came to Western, but with public policy I thought it just allowed me to get a little more focused on the kind of work I want to do one day.”
Hoping to become a city manager in the future, Johnson has a concentration in city and county government — one of the many concentration areas that students can choose within the public policy and administration major. Johnson added that his advisor, Dr. Mark Henkels, was instrumental in helping him find a concentration that would work well for him.
The other concentration options available include state and federal government, management, human resources, health policy and administration and corrections and law enforcement.
One thing that Johnson appreciates about having a concentration is that it provides him with the opportunity to take a variety of different classes, whereas the political science major has a bigger core that leaves less room to explore.
In his second year, Johnson is just beginning to take upper-division classes, and he is enjoying the environment of those smaller, discussion-heavy classes.
“It was small enough where we could share ideas with each other, ask really good questions, and have a class discussion that was big enough where you were getting a lot of diverse viewpoints to listen to and ask follow-ups on,” said Johnson.
In addition to providing him with an engaging class atmosphere, Johnson also notices a number of ways in which his major requirements connect to his work and leadership experiences on campus.
“For me, it all comes back to the major theme of helping people,” said Johnson. “On campus I work as a Resident Assistant in Heritage Hall (and) I serve on the Honors Committee as the Sophomore Representative. And, with both of those, it involves working on a team to help a larger group of people, which is ultimately what I aim to do with my public policy degree.”
For any Western students who might be considering a degree in public policy and administration, Johnson wants them to know that public policy and administration is a more versatile major than people might expect.
“Depending on your concentration, you can do a lot more with it than just work in government or even in the public sector,” said Johnson “Every corporation in the private sector needs a policy analyst, so there’s a lot more that you can do with it than just governmental things.”
If students would like to learn more about the public policy and administration major, they can find information at wou.edu/publicpolicy.
Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu
Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton
