Chase Muscato, DePaul’s American
Society for Public Administration student award winner, is pursuing a Master of Public Administration degree with a concentration in Public Management at the School of Public Service.
We asked him about his experience at
the School of Public Service, about what he plans to do with his degree, and more.
What inspired you to enroll at SPS?
I have always valued public service. As an undergraduate History major, I learned a lot about the value and impact of effective civic service by studying public service provisions in different eras. Effective public service allows underserved or people of little means to have programs and services to help better their quality of life.
After getting my undergraduate degree, I sought to best position myself to be able to enter the public sector and work for an organization that is a provider of the public services that I so greatly value.
In what ways do you feel SPS is preparing you in your career goals?
Local Government Administration (MPS 526), taught by Nick Kachiroubas, taught me the structure and functions of different bodies of local government and helped me to gain the understanding of how these government bodies interact and what challenges they face. Nick also created the final in MPS 526 to be a very real application of knowledge, requiring students, in groups, to create a policy and to pitch it in front of real city councilors, who provided feedback and voted whether to pass our
proposals. I think that the mix of theory and real world application helped me greatly in understanding the workings of local government.
Also, Government Financial Administration (MPS 514), taught by Steven
Abbey, taught me how to analyze local government financial documents such as a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) using excel to better understand the fiscal health of a community. MPS 514 also provided me with skills in Microsoft Excel.
What do you plan to do after you leave SPS?
During the course of my studies, I landed an internship as Management Intern for the Village of Volo to fulfill the internship requirement the MPA program. Well, this turned out to be a great learning experience, and as of June, I accepted a full-time position as a Management Assistant for the Village of Volo.
What SPS principles or teachings do you expect to apply to future jobs and experiences?
I have already used the Excel training I received in MPS 514, and I will continue to use in it my professional career. Also, many of the theories and
applications that I learned in Leadership and Management (MPS 521) and in Ethical Leadership (MPS 594) will be very useful as I continue to progress in my career. I hope to one day be in a position of leadership, so learning about the challenges of leadership as well as the different types of leadership and how to continue to develop, stick to my values and be an ethical leader are very important and useful.
What would you say to a prospective SPS student?
I believe that it is extremely important to reach out and meet and get to know the people in your classes. This serves as a practice in networking, but it also you will develop friendships. Also, all of us are in or trying to get into the public sector, and often classmates will have leads for potential internships or other opportunities. My other piece of advice would be to pick your professors’ brains as much as possible! At DePaul we are lucky to have many professors who also work in the public sector, and they can offer you a wealth of information and help with topics that extend far outside the classroom. Don’t hesitate to use your professors as sounding boards, as they are all very helpful, and in my experience, more than willing to listen and provide advice.