In honor of Public Service Recognition week, we’re shining some light on Arizona State University’s Public Service Academy that is educating the next generation of public servants and empowering students to change the world. Public servants have taken a more critical role in their unwavering commitment to the common good in response to the challenges of COVID-19 and social injustice. Young public servants are learning what it is like to serve the public at this critical time in our nation’s history. PSA is a collaborative leadership development program that has educated hundreds of students to positively impact society by working across sectors — military, government, private and nonprofit. And the PSA’s Next Generation Service Corps brings to life trusted American news anchor and author Tom Brokaw’s vision for a national network of public service academies that provide citizens with an opportunity to serve our country.
Featured Students:
- ASU sophomore, Jordyn Walhof, is working toward a certificate in Cross Sector Leadership, through PSA’s Next Generation Service Corps program. The NGSC program has given her the opportunity to be involved in two internships – one in private and one in nonprofit – as well as taking on multiple leadership roles in the program. She’s also double majoring in Political Science and Public Service/Public Policy and working toward a minor in Anthropology. Outside of the NGSC, she’s an AmeriCorps member working with the Public Allies Arizona program.
- Meredith Munn is a sophomore at Barrett the Honors College studying Biomedical Sciences and minoring in business while also earning a certificate in Cross Sector Leadership through Next Generation Service Corps. During her free time, she volunteers at a local nonprofit called Children’s Cancer Network.
- Gideon Kariuki is a second-year public service and public policy major who has been involved in the Next Generation Service Corps. His time with the Public Service Academy has given him the opportunity to develop his education and professional skills.
- ASU news spoke with some of its Public Service Academy students who are finding pathways into a life of public service – not necessarily as a job, but as a lifestyle. Hear what they had to say about the importance of public service in this recent episode of ASU’s Devils in the Details.
When ASU’s Public Service Academy debuted in 2015, it was the only program of its kind in the country. And now other universities are joining the movement, with ASU leading as an example, in a partnership between ASU’s Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions and the Volcker Alliance. The Next Generation Service Partnership (NextGen Service) is a national initiative that seeks to expand public service learning experiences for undergraduates as they take on the most complex challenges of our time.
