MPA Capstones

Twenty students in the MPA Program of the Department of Public Administration in the School of International and Public Affairs presented capstone presentations on Monday April 21, 2025, as part of their final semester of curriculum requirements before graduation. Assistant Professor of Public Administration Jay Rickabaugh taught the Spring PA 517 – MPA Capstone course and oversaw the presentations.

The students performed research and analysis on a wide range of topics — from how to improve a county’s emergency aid fund assistance for scholarship students, to analysis of city transportation crash data, to a hypothetical city proposal to bring in a major league baseball team. The students created their own research topics and prepared their analysis to align with accreditation requirements from the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA). 

The MPA capstone course was created to serve multiple simultaneous goals:  to provide students with an opportunity to “rocket boost” their career as they prepare to graduate from the program; to ensure students have the opportunity to enhance any under-developed knowledge, skills or abilities in public service that might have fallen through the cracks in their courses; and finally, to provide faculty with a body of material to assess student progress towards the mastery of their MPA Program objectives.

The students presented individually as part of a five-person panel, then fielded questions as a group on their individual topics. The following people presented:

Panel #1

• Rachel Lindwall – Program Assessment & Innovation Presentation for the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC
• Emma Blankenship – United States Attorney’s Office Logic Model for Training Legal Assistant Staff
• Sara Coello – Bridging the Gap: Strengthening Emergency Aid for Student Success
• Erinn Foote – Title IX: Guesswork Governance: A Policy Proposal for North Carolina State Government
• Mason Powell – Your First Month as a City Manager

Panel #2

• Gabrielle Bubin – 2024 Raleigh Crash Data
• Hannah Isley – Bridging the Gap: Improving FAFSA Completion for Economically Disadvantaged Students in North Carolina
• Theresa Jeffries – Enhancing Workplace Culture at a Southern State Correctional Institution
• Aurian Bayat – Reinstating North Carolina’s Teacher Master’s Pay Program: A SWOT Analysis
• Abbie Britt – Improving Disaster Recovery for North Carolina Local Governments

Panel #3

• Hunter Pastura – Unfunded Mandates: Vouchers Straining County Budgets
• Bridget Edwards – Creating a Fiscal Note Template
• Noah Carr – Raleigh Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources: An Analysis of Accessibility Features
• Nick Angeli – A Review of Travis County’s FY25 Operating Budget Through the Lens of the County’s Strategic Goals
• Annalisa Bankes — Creating a Nonprofit Funding Management Workbook

Panel #4

• Bri Milot – Trailhead Transport for Women of the Triangle Hiking Club
• Kestyn Harris – From Intention to Impact: A Practical Guide to Measuring DEI Success
• Joshua Fesmire – Implementation Plan: Bring a Major League Baseball Team to Raleigh, NC
• Madeline King – Hospital Deserts in North Carolina Counties
• Liz Merritt – Mathkind Global: Multi-Year Fundraising & Marketing Strategy

Some presenters had the opportunity to share their findings with relevant organizations and were informed of the positive benefits of their research, other presenters were able to put their tools to practical use in their own workplace.

“Giving our graduating MPA students a chance to develop and refine practical materials that can support their career development has taken on extra importance,” said Dr. Rickabaugh. “More than half of these students have already used a project developed in this class to advance towards their professional goals. That’s a testament to their preparation, effort, and application throughout the NC State MPA program.”

The PA – 517 Capstone course will be offered again in Fall 2025.