Why I Want to Become a Public Administrator

¶ … twenty-five years with the United States Postal Service, a person typically does not make any radical changes to their personal or professional lives. Yet here I am, applying for a Masters Degree in Public Administration. Why? I realize I am not the typical applicant, but it's not like I haven't thought this through, either. My goals have shifted, my values are changing, and now I need to channel my energies to public service. My core goal is managing government programs designed for economically challenged neighborhoods, and the families and individuals living in those neighborhoods. As a transition to public administration from my work at the postal service, I have started to network with community organizers and social workers in the mental health sector. Growing awareness of structural inequities that exacerbate both mental health issues and poverty have caused me to become more interested in what I can do to help, and how. After investigating the various options I can use to fulfill my goals, I determined that public administration was the only way to go. The time has come for me to give back to my community, by helping those who can use my assistance. The particular way I will offer my assistance is by creating, developing, implementing, and coordinating programs that improve access to mental health services in poor communities. This will require diligent work linking politics, social work, and demographic research. My background in economics will finally come in handy, because I also know that a degree of managerial accounting and budgeting will be required for me to accomplish the core goals of the projects I envision.

On a personal level, I have seen what economic disenfranchisement can do to individuals, families, and whole communities. It breaks my heart to see powerful, potent people fail to live up to their potential. I have seen this again and again in my own community, and until now I genuinely felt that I, too, was powerless. It took me several years to draw upon my inner reserves of strength and determination in order to make this change.

My long career with the United States Postal Service highlights one of the traits that is most obvious from my resume: dedication. I have served the organization for the past 25 years with positions of leadership in the past 11 years. As supervisor and as a manager, I have motivated others and inspired others with an essentially participative-democratic approach to leadership and coaching. My present position is Supervisor of Customer Service, and this enables me to work with 70 employees and interact with over 20,000 potential customers during the course of my work. I think of myself as being a strong communicator, but someone who prefers to work behind the scenes to get the real work done.