Henry Carlson is an MPA candidate who is completing the program from Tuscon, Arizona. Henry currently serves as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer for the United States Air Force. Henry came to the O’Neill Online program early in his career, having completed a little more than one year of full-time work.
This is a school that clearly cares about students like me; O’Neill Online understands the rigors of professional life for all its students.
Why did you choose the O’Neill Online MPA program?
From all the research I did, the O’Neill Online MPA program stood out as one of the top of its kind in the country, and I was certainly drawn to the curriculum’s combination of breadth and depth with the four options for focus areas. What really made the difference for me were O’Neill’s excellent resources available to active-duty military members. This is a school that clearly cares about students like me; O’Neill Online understands the rigors of professional life for all its students, but is especially willing to work with military members to help them succeed despite their potential to deploy in service of our country.
How has the flexibility of the online program helped you to balance all of your responsibilities?
My work days are busy and long as a rule, so I need to balance my time carefully; in all of my classes so far, the work has been spread out evenly, and I’ve had the ability to pace myself to meet weekly deadlines. That means I can conveniently carve time out for my classes, which I really appreciate.
What are your main academic/policy areas of interest and what led you to those interests?
I’m really interested in environmental policy, as well as urban planning, and the two often go hand-in-hand. I’ve found that our country’s history in both of those areas has often been a mixed bag, but I think the ability to make effective change at a local level is real and inspiring.
Is there anything else you would like prospective students to know about you or your experience in the program?
So far I’ve had great experiences in all my classes! I’ve especially enjoyed participating in weekly discussion threads; there are some extremely smart and well-spoken students in this program, and I love learning from them as much as from the class readings.
