Baker School Student Associations Prepare for new Academic Year
Engagement outside of the classroom is an important part of the student experience at the Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs (Baker School) and the Baker School Student Association (BSSA) and Baker Graduate Student Association (BGSA) provide an opportunity for our students to build a relationship with their peers while participating in fun activities, networking opportunities, and registration drives.
“Student organizations are a critical part of a student’s education. They are a bridge between the classroom and the real world,” says Jonathan Ring, director of undergraduate studies at the Baker School. “Participating in them is often the first leadership experience a student gets. They teach things like teamwork and project management more naturally than even the best designed group projects.”
With a mission to better equip members for a career in public service, the BSSA caters to undergraduate students. The BSSA was established last year and is open to any University of Tennessee, Knoxville, student with an interest in public policy. The organization holds bi-weekly meetings which could include special guest speakers, discussions on policy, professional development workshops, resume workshops and more.
In its first year, the BSSA hosted UTK alum, former NFL quarterback, and U.S. Representative Heath Shuler to discuss his career and Tennessee State Senator Richard Briggs for a discussion on Tennessee policies. They also brought in Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation at the State Department Ann Ganzer to speak on what nonproliferation was and what careers in the Department look like.
The Baker Graduate Student Association (BGSA) is launching in August. It is a place for Baker graduate students to connect, collaborate, and support one another in both academic and non-academic pursuits. They will host meetings once a month on Tuesdays at the Baker School. Through guest speakers, events, and activities, their goal is to better prepare students for public service and provide networking and career opportunities.
The BGSA’s current executive team includes students who were Baker Students when it was still the Baker Center for Public Policy, dedicated to the spirit of public service. Each student is now pursuing their master’s in public policy or master’s in public administration in the Baker School’s Graduate Program.
To learn more about the BSSA, go here. To learn more about the BGSA and how to get involved, click here.