Correction appended
Isabel Band grad and Eric Schultz grad received Adams Leadership Awards and $3,000 stipends — given to qualified graduate students pursuing a masters in Public Administration — at the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs Colloquium on Thursday.
Samuel Adams MPA ’74, a CIPA alum, said that this award is not only distributed to students based on their academic record “but also [their] commitment to community service and demonstrated leadership.”
“It’s terrific from my perspective, because you really get an opportunity to honor people who are outstanding in the work that they’ve done,” he said. “It’s not easy to do what these people do. When I went to Cornell I did well academically, but there wasn’t that much focus on community service. That’s what this award recognizes.”
Band described this experience as, “very humbling”, saying she was “honored” by the recognition.
“One of the greatest things about this [masters program] is the people that we get to work with,” she said. “There are a million other people who I can think of that would be great for the award.”
Schultz said he hopes to pursue a career in education policy.
“I am interested in education policy, especially in linking the pathways between school districts and the education pipeline to labor market demands in rural areas,” he said.
Schultz said he plans to pursue his academic interests with the scholarship, but has not decided on his plans for after graduation.
Band said she will work for the U.S. Government Accountability Office after this spring.
The awards ceremony concluded a weekly lecture series on public policy and affairs.
Scott Litman ’98, managing director and co-portfolio manager of Oaktree Capital’s Infrastructure and Investing Strategy sector, spoke about opportunities for development in the airport industry, honing in on San Juan’s airport as an example of successful airport development.
The series — which began in fall 2011 and features six to eight speakers per semester — is also open to the public. The colloquium is essential for graduate students studying to receive their MPA degrees according to its website.
A previous version of this story incorrectly said the colloquium is for graduate students seeking their CIPA degree in a two year program. In fact, students in the CIPA program are pursuing a MPA degree.