Meet Ben Jarrard, '13
Currently a member of the PSIA Advisory Board, Ben Jarrard recently received the impressive achievement of being named to the “20 Under 40” class of 2024 by the UNG Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Board.
Ben is the son of a military officer and therefore moved around a lot in his younger years until eventually graduating from Lumpkin County High School here in Dahlonega. He then moved a few miles up the road to pursue a degree in Political Science, with a Mandarin Chinese minor, at UNG. During his time in college, he played golf on the Division II team, was a cadet, did one year in SGA, and joined a fraternity.
After graduating from UNG in 2013, Ben was offered the opportunity to work on then Governor Nathan Deal’s reelection campaign, after having previously interned with Gov Deal a year earlier. Following this, he returned to UNG to work in the newly opened Government Relations office for five years. After serving as Chief of Staff for two years for another UNG Alum, State Senator Steve Gooch (MPA ’98), Ben took a brief hiatus in Jan 2024 to serve as Campaign Manager for former State Senator Mike Dugan's election campaign. Ben resumed his Chief of Staff duties for Sen Gooch in August 2024.
Through the PSIA department and the cadet program, Ben was able to develop his leadership skills at UNG. He also learned how to be a good follower and have good discipline. Also, he feels that his research and writing skills, developed through his political science degree coursework, have helped him tremendously during his career. He also appreciates how the department taught him how to think like a political scientist.
Reflecting on his selection as one of the UNG Alumni Association’s 2023 “20 Under 40” cohort, Ben said:
It was a tremendous honor. You talk about impostor syndrome in the workplace. That's certainly, what I was feeling a little bit of. Going to the event and being surrounded by my fellow North Georgia graduates who had received awards and hearing their stories. I really just feel lucky to be in the room with them … I feel like a lot of my success was timing -- being in the right place and then taking advantage of being in the right place at the right time. I just feel very fortunate to be considered among that group of people. Makes me want to be a better person and work harder to really continue to prove myself that you deserve something like that, and so I'm grateful for it.
For current and future students, Ben has a simple piece of advice: “always be learning and always be open to learning.” In addition, he encourages students to make sure they are doing internships because “networking is critical.”
To hear more about Ben’s time with PSIA and what he is up to now check out our interview with him on our YouTube channel.