While his love for public policy began in high school, University of Maryland School of Public Policy alumnus Philip Gallegos says his passion and interest in government finance began to take shape during his time in graduate school.
Philip Gallegos began working as a budget analyst for the State’s Department of Budget and Management following graduation from the School of Public Policy. Gallegos works in the Office of Budget Analysis (OBA). “OBA assists in allocating state resources in ways that provide the most benefits with the least cost to citizens of the state,” he says. “There’s no such thing as a ‘typical’ day at the Office of Budget Analysis.”
“My interest in public policy started in high school and has developed throughout college and beyond,” Gallegos adds. “I had excellent teachers in high school who taught us about the complexities of political decision making, and from there I chose coursework in undergrad that allowed me to further explore those complexities.”
It was at SPP that I made contacts with professors and other faculty and alumni that opened doors for me to apply to many different places, including my current job at the Department of Budget and Management.Philip Gallegos SPP Alumnus
“I chose the University of Maryland School of Public Policy because I knew it was one of the nation’s leading graduate programs dedicated to the study of public policy, management and international affairs,” Gallegos says. “I did some research and discovered that Maryland prepares broadly knowledgeable and innovative leaders to have an impact on the profound challenges of the 21stcentury.”
Gallegos says he credits his time at SPP with shaping his current career. “My time at Maryland is pretty much the reason I have a career,” he says. “It was at SPP that I made contacts with professors and other faculty and alumni that opened doors for me to apply to many different places, including my current job at the Department of Budget and Management.”
“My favorite part of studying at SPP was class discussions in some of my smaller classes,” he says. “I learned a lot from my fellow students, especially when classes were smaller than fifteen.”
In addition, Gallegos says he learned a great deal from the faculty members he interacted with during his time at the School. “Senior Lecturer Tom Hilde in Moral Dimensions of Public Policy was one of my first instructors and it made a great impression,” he says. “I knew after my first session in his class that I was going to enjoy my time at the University. He has a great way of building a moral lesson using current events.”
“Professor and Senior Associate Dean Philip Joyce is probably one of the most important professors I had at my time at the School of Public Policy,” Gallegos adds. “He solidified my interest in public budgeting as a career; he developed interesting, challenging and entertaining homework all at once. His reading assignments were always timely and useful. I can’t say enough about the value I got out of his classes. Class discussions were always spirited and lively.”
“Adjunct Lecturer Marita Brown’s class on state and local government budgeting was incredibly helpful in the real world,” he says. “Her class projects, including the final project, taught me the basic concepts of budget analysis that I use every day. The best part is every time I give a presentation at work, I see her portrait staring down at me in the first floor conference room at the Department of Budget and Management. It’s a bit surreal sometimes.”
“The School of Public Policy did a good job preparing me for my current job,” he says. “I’m thankful for the contacts I made there.”