Baker Blog

Claire McCarthy: Building a Career in Public Service Through the Baker School

As a sophomore at the Baker School, Claire McCarthy is already exploring how policy decisions shape communities and impact people’s daily lives. Through her coursework and internship with the Town of Farragut, she is beginning to see where she fits in that process. McCarthy’s interest in public service is grounded in a desire to see…
From Classroom to Capitol: Makayla Paris’s Legislative Experience

Makayla Paris is not just studying policy, she is already inside the process, working where Tennessee’s biggest decisions are made. Through the Tennessee Legislative Internship Program (TLIP), Paris, a junior public affairs major, is one of six University of Tennessee students selected to work full time in Nashville during the spring legislative session. The program,…
Jaxon McQueary: Investing in Community and Leadership

Sophomore Jaxon McQueary is helping shape how Baker students support one another. After experiencing the impact of mentorship early in his college career, he helped co-found the Baker School Mentorship Program to better support incoming students as they navigate both the university and the Baker community. Originally from Washington, Illinois, McQueary came to the University…
Solving Public Problems, One Budget at a Time

Before he was teaching public finance at the Baker School, Assistant Professor John Stavick was watching policy decisions unfold in real time, and seeing the results firsthand. As an undergraduate economics major at Georgia State, Stavick secured a fiscal research internship that would quietly shape the trajectory of his career. At the university’s Fiscal Research…
Gabriel Karatantcheva: Building Systems That Respond in Crisis

Originally from Bulgaria, graduate student Gabriel Karatantcheva has long been aware of how systems shape people’s lives. But it was through moments of crisis that she saw just how much they matter. At Francis Marion University, Karatantcheva demonstrated remarkable discipline and drive, triple majoring in economics, management, and political science and government while competing as…
Louie Perry: Bridging Policy and Global Dialogue

Well before Illinois native Louie Perry set foot in the Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs, he had already stepped into the world of politics. From attending the 2017 presidential inauguration in Washington D.C., to working on the 2022 Illinois gubernatorial primary, he gained an early, firsthand look at public…
Listening First: Madison Lackey’s Journey From Community Conversations to Policy Research

March 11, 2026 In her first semester as a graduate student at the Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs, Madison Lackey found herself sitting across from community leaders in the Cumberland Gap region, listening to conversations about economic transition, tourism strategy, and the lingering effects of industrial decline. The discussion…
Half a World Away, Familiar Challenges

February 24, 2026 February 24, 2026 In December, Director of the Center for National Security and Foreign Affairs Wiegand spent three weeks at Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) in La Union, Philippines, as a Fulbright Specialist. Drawing on her expertise in public policy, governance, and Indo-Pacific security, she delivered lectures and keynote addresses…
How Voting Rights Have Evolved in the United States

February 9, 2026 As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, understanding the history of voting rights helps illuminate how American democracy has taken shape across generations. Against that backdrop, first-year public affairs majors at the Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs stepped beyond the classroom, traveling from Knoxville to…
Examining Food Waste and Recovery at Neyland Stadium: Julia Swart’s Capstone Project

January 6, 2026 Julia Swart, a recent Master of Public Administration (MPA) graduate of the Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs, was drawn to the program by her passion for food policy and her desire to make a meaningful impact in the fight against hunger. It was only natural, then,…