Discussion Thread: Your Role as a Policy Analysist
Explain why you have chosen to pursue a doctoral degree in public policy, and in your chosen cognate. (If you have not chosen a cognate, explain why.)
Describe your professional experience and skills, including any specific knowledgeon which you can build in your scholarship on public policy.Elaborate on the ways in which your Christian worldview or calling have shaped theway that you approach your understanding of the public policy issues that concernyou.1.My whole life I have been involved in politics in one way or another: I was named afterRonald Reagan, attended all of two of my uncles’ campaigns for country judge, myfather’s City Council/Mayoral campaigns, and now his State Representative campaign.For as long as I can remember, some form of politics is what I have wanted to do with mylife. Though the exact what has changed through my life, from being president to aprofessor of political science. My undergraduate degree is in Public Administration andmy master’s degree is in Political Science. Over the last couple of years, with everythinggoing on in the world, I started thinking more about the issues and policies presented andenacted and the effect they have on the people. So, I decided this was what my doctoratedegree needed to be in, Public Policy. I chose Social Policy as my cognate because that iswhat I have felt drawn to and passionate about the most in the last three years and ingeneral, social issues have become the forefront of change and on people’s minds.2.Most of my professional experience is in retail and teaching preschool/daycare. Policieson different areas can and do affect all aspects of life, i.e., shopping (retail), andeducation. I do not have any real professional experience or skills specifically dealingwith public policy, but I have been able to see how policies affect the areas myprofessional experience is in. With retail, one can look at sales over certain years and seethe changes in sales numbers and link it to what is going on in the economy at that time.
You can then use that to predict what sales will be like in a future sense or current sense.You can even break it down into departments and see what people find necessary tocontinue to purchase even in economic hard times. With the preschools and daycares, youcan see the influence of policies in the education part of things and policies concerningwelfare.3.My Christianity and Christian worldview have greatly impacted the way I approach myunderstanding of social policy issues. And here is how: Jesus and his view of the peoplehe came to save regardless of class, employment, race, gender, etc. is what shapes myapproach to most social issues and policies. Viewing Jesus as essentially a social activistwho confronted the social structures of his day fighting for the common good influenceshow I should be fighting for the common good against the social structures of my daythrough social policy. Jesus became the face of liberation for marginalized groups and anenemy of the state because of the things he preached. My Christian worldview has taughtme that in being a follower of Jesus I should aim to be like him in everything – so when itcomes to social issues and social policy, I believe I should also be the activist for theoppressed and marginalized people of this country.