Public Administration: Working on the Local Level

"If our histories are to help change the world, they must reach beyond the walls of the academy to affect the views of people who do more than just study the past."

Bill Cronon "The Uses of Environmental History"

This beautiful picture was taken as I was talking to my PA Ethics class on Thursday night as I finished off my first week of school. And the above quote was taken from a reading in my Global Environmental History class. A big reason why I wanted to start this blog was because many times people shy away from talking about what I am learning in school before because they automatically assume that I am a politician. In a way, this is a false statement. Elected officials are chosen by the people and they, in a sense are there to do the will of the people. As a Public Administrator I am hired by the government or the public sector and I am at the service of the public but mostly on a local scale. 

There is so much citizens can do on a local scale for their community. I am interested in sustainability, which is the idea of using resources more efficiently so future generations can have the same opportunities that I have. I am interested in local food co-ops, community gardens, and localized partnerships in a community working together to make sure that citizens have equal opportunities to be successful in their lives. 

Why, might you ask, is this important to understand? To talk about? Because in a community we each have our own experiences, values, morals, thoughts and together we can take those ideas and create something great. It can be a more well rounded discussion with many different disciplines adding insight that might not be seen from my eyes as a PA. Academia has to take a step out in the real world, take theories and apply them to better understand the world around us. I am open and excited to hear your thoughts and opinions on different subjects!! 

So I hope to start some riveting conversations on this blog about actions that you can take locally, and hopefully shed some positive light on "government". 

Follow me on twitter, or on this blog for some great topics in the upcoming semester!!