KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Aaron Summerall, a junior public affairs major at the Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs, has been selected to participate in the Public Policy Leadership Conference at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Summerall is one of 50 undergraduate students selected from approximately 900 applicants nationwide for the conference, which introduces students to graduate education in public policy and careers in public service through policy workshops, classroom experiences and conversations with practitioners.
“What excites me most is getting to learn from people who care deeply about public service and then bring those ideas, questions and relationships back to Tennessee,” Summerall said.
A native of Rockwood, Tennessee, Summerall transferred to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, this fall from Roane State Community College, where he received the President’s Award. At UT, he is pursuing a public affairs degree with a concentration in health policy while gaining experience in public service and policy through UT Sustainability and the East Tennessee Development District.
Summerall also serves as a student representative on the UT Faculty Senate Undergraduate Council and as a field manager for the Pride of the Southland Band.
His interest in public policy is rooted in his experience growing up in rural Tennessee.
“I am interested in policy because decisions that can look abstract on paper become very real when you live in a rural community and see how access, transportation, food, health, and opportunity intersect.”
Summerall will participate in the conference later this month in Cambridge, Massachusetts.