This legislative session, three School of Public Policy students will gain hands-on experience as part of the Maryland Department of Legislative Fellows (DLS) Program. Arnold Adja, Madelyn Miller and Julia Schreiber will serve as Fellows during the session, supporting elected officials and seeing firsthand how DLS operates.
“Working with DLS during a legislative session is the best on-the-job training there is for state-level policy,” says Eric Luedtke, clinical associate professor and director of the State and Local Governance Initiative. “This program is a great opportunity both for the University and for the state, which gets both some extra help during session and a pipeline of potential future talent.”
Luedtke is able to see the Fellows’ impact firsthand, as an elected member of the Maryland House of Delegates since 2011.
The program capitalizes on policy students’ extensive classroom experience to apply their knowledge and skills to the workplace during an intense session, which starts Jan. 13. This year, three of the seven participants are SPP students and part of a cohort of diverse fellows from several USM schools.
In addition to real-world experience, Bryan Kempton, director of career services and alumni relations, says the students will also have the opportunity to network with elected officials and professional analysts, many of whom are SPP alumni.
“Our students represent the best of what SPP has to offer the working world and they couldn't be more excited that they are taking this opportunity to further their career exploration in the area of state government,” says Kempton.
