by Margaret Mikulski:
Image of Margaret sharing her work on the history of gender equity in public sector workplaces at the 2024 ASPA Conference.
As an online Master of Public Administration student at John Jay, I had a different educational experience than most on-campus students. Working with IGEPS as a graduate fellow, I have built wonderful relationships with both Professor D’Agostino and Professor Elias, as well as, other students within the John Jay community – but only virtually.
I attended the American Society for Public Administration Annual Conference, which was held in Minneapolis. The theme of the conference this year was building resilience, and I presented “Gender Equity in the Workplace: A History of Building Resilience” on the Building Resilience through Inclusive Policies and Practices panel. ASPA gave me the chance to finally meet with Professor D’Agostino for the first time in person after almost 3 years! From this experience, I gained more knowledge into both local, national, and overall research in the field of Public Administration. This conference gave me a new, fresh perspective on what is possible to do with this degree upon graduation from the program.
I had the opportunity to present a research paper that identified and evaluated focusing events, legislation, and policies related to gender equity throughout history, starting from the Revolutionary War until today. While attending ASPA, I also sat in on various panels related to social, racial, economic, and gender equity and continued to widen my network both locally and nationally. One of the largest takeaways I had while attending ASPA was being exposed to the range of possibilities for my MPA degree upon graduation.
About the author:
Margaret Milkulski is currently a Master of Public Administration student at John Jay College, CUNY where she holds a Fellowship with the Initiative for Gender Equity in the Public Sector. She is currently in Minnesota working as a social worker in a county jail providing mental health services to inmates.She has previous experience working in community corrections, research and policy, and mental health fields in Chicago and suburbs of the Twin Cities. She hopes to continue her work in the intersection of mental health and the criminal justice system.