Alex is an Account Executive with the District
Communications Group and a Civil Affairs
Sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve. He
earned a bachelor's degree in English from the
University of Maryland in 2008, and has
managed programs and logistics for USAID, the
Department of Defense, and other large scale
domestic and international companies.
Alex began our program in the spring of 2015.
"I came to the program with a liberal arts
background. The courses are rigorous
and challenging, even for students with more
math and economics in their backgrounds, but
the program has helped me adapt to a
quantitative and economic analysis mindset
quickly.
"
David Vine, Graduated
December 2019
David
enrolled in our program in the fall of
2018, after having earned his bachelor's
degree in Mathematics at the University
of Central Florida the previous
May. During the summer after his
first year in our program, David worked
at a Pathways Internship in the US
Department of Agriculture's Economic
Research Service. He also took a
course with us that summer and graduated
in December of 2019. After
Graduation he began working as an
Operations Research Analyst with the
Internal Revenue Service. .
A quote from David: "I knew I wanted to
pursue a career in public service, but I
needed extra skills to be successful in
my job search. Maryland's Master's in
Applied Economics program was my first
choice because of its reputation and
close proximity to Washington, DC.
The flexibility of the program allowed
me to build my resume and expand my
network even before graduating. I
was able to work at a paid internship
with the USDA while still enrolled, and
now work full-time as an analyst at the
IRS where I use skills from the master’s
program everyday."
Genta Agaj, Graduated
May 2018
Genta
is a member of our program's first
cohort of international students -- we
did not begin sponsoring international
student visas until 2016. She set
a great example. Genta was
sponsored by USAID and the Government of
Kosovo to attend our program. In
the summer after her first year in the
program, she was recruited by a fellow
student into a Monitoring, Evaluation
and Learning (MEL) internship with Vital
Voices. In her second year, she
did another internship at Keshif, a data
exploration and analytics company, where
she interned as a Data Analysis and
Communications Intern.
By the
terms of her sponsorship, Genta returned
to work in her home country of Kosovo
after graduation. She works at the
management consulting firm, MDA, where
she is a Research Consultant as well as
the Head of the Project Development
Division.
A quote from Genta: "I came to
Maryland's Master's in Applied Economics
program with limited experience in
research and economics. After the two
years at Maryland, I came back to my
former employer and was able to receive
a promotion based on my new skill set
and knowledge, making my choice to go to
this program worthwhile."
Jonathan Marandure, Graduated
May 2014
Jonathan
came to our program in the spring of
2013 with a background in accounting
and finance. He has been working
since 2011 at Population Services
International (PSI), a leading global
health organization. Jonathan
works at PSI as a Financial
Analyst. Many of the projects on
which he works are focused on
reproductive health and HIV.
A
quote from Jonathan: "Upon
completion of the program, I started
working on cost-effectiveness analysis
assignments to assess the health
impact of our programs with respect to
the level of investment. I found the
skills and knowledge acquired from the
program to be extremely useful for
those assignments."
Jillian McGrath, Graduated
December 2018
Jillian began our
program in the fall of 2017,
after completing her
bachelor's degrees (also at
Maryland) in Economics and
Government and Politics.
While enrolled, Jillian worked
at internships with the
Committee for a Responsible
Federal Budget, and the Center
on Budget and Policy
Priorities. Shortly
before graduating she began
working as a Research Analyst
at Insight Policy
Research. Since
September of 2019 she has been
an Economic Policy Advisor
with the national think tank,
Third Way.
A quote from Jillian: "Enrolling
in Maryland's Masters's
in Applied Economics
Program has been a great
career move for
me. None of jobs
I've had since college
would've been possible
without the training and
background the program's
provided me, I was
able to jump into a
rigorous research
position and translate
the skills I learned
right in the workplace,
bypassing years of entry
level data work.
In my current role, I
bring these data skills
to contemporary economic
policy debates on a
daily basis, which is a
huge comparative
advantage in a field
where many professionals
my age can only use
Excel."
Chad Bolt, Graduated
August 2016
Chad is a Legislative
Assistant to a member of the
United States Senate. He
earned a bachelor's degree in
Government and Political
Affairs at Millersville
University of Pennsylvania in
2008 and enrolled in our
program in the spring of
2015. Chad's work as a
Senate staffer has required
analysis of policies related
to foreign affairs, homeland
security, trade, labor,
financial services, and
taxation.
A quote from Chad: "This
masters program has given
me a new set of tools with
which to analyze public
policy and to think even
more critically about the
challenges facing our
country and the middle
class. Since
enrolling in the program,
I have been promoted to a
higher level of
responsibility, providing
the senator with analysis
and recommendations on a
range of policy issues."