Public Administration Students Kick off Semester by Giving Back 

SPIA’s public administration students clean up nice! 

To kick off the semester, graduate students from NC State’s Master of Public Administration (MPA), Ph.D. programs and GAPA (the Graduate Association of Public Administration) headed to Baileywick Elementary School to participate in their annual campus clean-up. The event took place in partnership with Activate Good, a Triangle-based nonprofit that connects Raleigh citizens with volunteer opportunities. Activate Good was also founded by an MPA alumni, Amber Smith. 

Faculty and staff from the Department of Public Administration also pitched in. “The annual service day is fast-becoming one of my favorite events,” said Dr. Jerrell Coggburn, MPA program director. “Starting the academic year off with a day of service really sets the tone for what we are all about in public administration – public service.” 

The group spruced up Baileywick’s campus just in time for back-to-school, volunteering their time to benefit a Raleigh-area school and its students. Some students brought family members to help out. Meggie Romick, the graduate academic advisor coordinator joined the effort and added, “because public service is an important part of public administration, we often do service projects. However, we really wanted to do something on a larger scale at the start of the school year, both to give back to the community and to give students a chance to mingle with other students and faculty/staff outside of orientation.” 

Baileywick Elementary’s staff appreciated the effort; Principal Kendall Grigg, Assistant Principal Alexis Hyatt and members of the PTA pitched in alongside the NC State graduate students. “After the students weeded, trimmed hedges, pruned, swept, and mulched our hearts out all morning,” Romick said, “they headed to a nearby restaurant to enjoy lunch and further build community in anticipation of the start of the fall semester.”

For more information on NC State’s Master of Public Administration, visit the MPA homepage.