School of Public Administration Student Spotlight | Joseph Harris
Not only a great student, but an ambitious one at that, Joseph Harris, a current graduate student of the UNO School of Public Administration, is proudly pursuing his Master of Public Administration.
- published: 2019/04/03
- contact: Megan Nelson - School of Public Administration
- phone: 402.554.4874
- email: megnelson@unomaha.edu
- search keywords:
- student spotlight
- School of Public Administration
In addition to furthering his education, he is up for challenges. One of the most recent adventures was representing the UNO School of Public Administration as a participant in the NASPAA Simulation at the University of Texas-Austin, LBJ School of Public Administration.
Catch this exclusive look at the competition, and Joseph’s crucial role as a representative of the UNO School of Public Administration.
Tell us about the NASPAA Simulation. Who was involved, how were you selected, etc.
I was selected to attend the NASPAA Simulation by my graduate advisor (Meagan Van Gelder), based off my history of student involvement on campus during both my undergraduate and graduate career. Being an active member of student government for two years presented many opportunities to network and engage other students, which helped prepare me for this type of environment.
The topic was policy migration and each group was assigned a mock country that they represented within an international coalition. Each member of the group was assigned a role that required different policy decisions to be made. I assumed the role of Minister of Labor which required me to make decisions on whether we provided jobs, education/training, loan services, and other programs that would increase immigration employment and strengthen our country’s GDP.
The competition included students from various schools across the nation. The members of my team all met for the first time on the day of the competition and had very little time to interact face to face before the competition began. All of us had different backgrounds and areas of interest. While none of us had a vast knowledge of migration policies, we were able to cooperate on decisionmaking and select the role that best fit our skillsets. My team placed third overall at the UT-Austin site, and was the top-scoring hybrid team.
What was the most challenging aspect of the competition?
The most challenging aspect of the competition were the time restrictions. After each round of the simulation, the time to make policy decisions is reduced. This made it difficult to forecast the effects of policy decisions and coordinate those decisions with the delegates from the other countries. At the end of the simulation we were given 40 minutes to write a policy memo and prepare a presentation for the judges. We had to know our information and be comfortable while presenting our policy decisions to the judges, if we were going to receive a good score.
What was the most rewarding aspect of competing?
The most rewarding aspects of competing was being able to interact with students from other universities who also hope to be public administrators in the future. But overall, I would say the biggest reward was the confidence gained from being able to find success in an area that I did not feel entirely comfortable about going in.
How do you plan to use this experience moving forward?
This experience highlighted the importance of understanding the effects of decisionmaking which is an essential role of a public administrator. This is why it is necessary to analyze data and outline both the direct and indirect impacts certain policies may potentially have on all stakeholders within the region. It also highlighted the need to collaborate at all levels, rather that’s between individual agencies or entire nations.
Would you recommend the simulation experience to others?
I would absolutely recommend the simulation experience, because it allows students to step out of the classroom and into a world where your overall judgment as a decisionmaker is challenged. For students who hope to be public administrators or in upper management as a whole, being forced to make trade-offs and constantly weigh decisions that have a seemingly endless number of unknown variables is an invaluable experience.
Catch this exclusive look at the competition, and Joseph’s crucial role as a representative of the UNO School of Public Administration.
Tell us about the NASPAA Simulation. Who was involved, how were you selected, etc.
I was selected to attend the NASPAA Simulation by my graduate advisor (Meagan Van Gelder), based off my history of student involvement on campus during both my undergraduate and graduate career. Being an active member of student government for two years presented many opportunities to network and engage other students, which helped prepare me for this type of environment.
The topic was policy migration and each group was assigned a mock country that they represented within an international coalition. Each member of the group was assigned a role that required different policy decisions to be made. I assumed the role of Minister of Labor which required me to make decisions on whether we provided jobs, education/training, loan services, and other programs that would increase immigration employment and strengthen our country’s GDP.
The competition included students from various schools across the nation. The members of my team all met for the first time on the day of the competition and had very little time to interact face to face before the competition began. All of us had different backgrounds and areas of interest. While none of us had a vast knowledge of migration policies, we were able to cooperate on decisionmaking and select the role that best fit our skillsets. My team placed third overall at the UT-Austin site, and was the top-scoring hybrid team.
What was the most challenging aspect of the competition?
The most challenging aspect of the competition were the time restrictions. After each round of the simulation, the time to make policy decisions is reduced. This made it difficult to forecast the effects of policy decisions and coordinate those decisions with the delegates from the other countries. At the end of the simulation we were given 40 minutes to write a policy memo and prepare a presentation for the judges. We had to know our information and be comfortable while presenting our policy decisions to the judges, if we were going to receive a good score.
What was the most rewarding aspect of competing?
The most rewarding aspects of competing was being able to interact with students from other universities who also hope to be public administrators in the future. But overall, I would say the biggest reward was the confidence gained from being able to find success in an area that I did not feel entirely comfortable about going in.
How do you plan to use this experience moving forward?
This experience highlighted the importance of understanding the effects of decisionmaking which is an essential role of a public administrator. This is why it is necessary to analyze data and outline both the direct and indirect impacts certain policies may potentially have on all stakeholders within the region. It also highlighted the need to collaborate at all levels, rather that’s between individual agencies or entire nations.
Would you recommend the simulation experience to others?
I would absolutely recommend the simulation experience, because it allows students to step out of the classroom and into a world where your overall judgment as a decisionmaker is challenged. For students who hope to be public administrators or in upper management as a whole, being forced to make trade-offs and constantly weigh decisions that have a seemingly endless number of unknown variables is an invaluable experience.