Impacts of PSIA Graduates: Past, Present, Future. That was the theme of PSIA's recent contribution to UNG's ongoing Sesquicentennial celebration. Six of our Political Science & International Affairs alumni visited the Dahlonega campus on October 19, 2022 to meet with students and answer the question: "How has your degree from PSIA contributed to your career path and your career success?"
The esteemed panelists included Mr. Richard Stancil, PS '78; CEO, The Wine RayZyn Company, LLC; COL (ret) Peter Hoffman, PS, '81; Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army, Georgia (Coastal Region); The Honorable Ben Miller, PS '92; Superior Court Judge, Griffin Judicial Circuit; Ms. Beverly Hardin, MPA '99; CEO, Carolina Youth Development Center; Mr. Bryan Lackey, MPA '05; City Manager, Gainesville, GA; and Mr. Jason Barnaby, PS '07; Director of Campaign Success, Change.org.
During their visit, the alumni gathered in the Dahlonega library and spoke to current political science students (both in person and via Zoom) about their careers, and how their PSIA degree prepared them for the workforce and helped them achieve success. Our hope with the event was that each alum, by providing insights to our current students regarding their respective (and diverse) career paths, students would be able to link those experiences to their own academic journey to make them stronger job candidates and better problem-solvers as they address governmental and non-profit service careers.
Following the hour-long panel presentation, the alumni had lunch and continued their discussions with six of our top PSIA student "Ambassadors", along with several PSIA faculty members. Following lunch, Alumni Student Host Knox Miller, '24 and political science major Carly Evans '23 gave the alumni a tour of the Dahlonega campus, several of whom had not seen it (and all the changes) in quite a few years!
As the University continues to celebrate 150 fifty years of academic excellence, we were proud to showcase this small sample of our graduate roster and the impact our entire #PSIA family has, and is having, on their profession, community and our country.
[For those of you who were not able to join us on the 19th, a recording of our hour-long event is available on our YouTube channel.]
[Contributing author Carly Evans. Photos by Brandon Cooley.]