Public Administration Graduate Student Chosen for ‘Elite’ Federal Program

By Kathryn Podolsky

Kimberly Hughes, a graduate student in public administration, has been accepted into the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program, one of the federal government’s most prestigious and competitive internships. She is one of 700 graduate students selected for the program from among 5,000 applicants nationwide.

The program seeks “inspired, committed and talented” students to work for federal government agencies, where in the future they will be shaping public policy programs that impact millions of people.

“Fellows within the two-year program are provided specific and special training in order to assume leadership positions within federal agencies,” Hughes said. “The retirement of many federal agency employees [baby boomers] is expected over the next decade, so the PMF program is considered a huge part of succession planning.”

While in Washington, D.C., the first week of April, Hughes had 11 interviews in two days and was offered positions with three different agencies. She plans to accept a position as a human resources specialist with the Veteran’s Administration Human Resource Office of Oversight and Effectiveness.

Hughes plans to move to Washington, D.C., to assume the position after completing her master's degree in public administration this spring. She earned her bachelor's degree in management, with an emphasis on human resources, and a minor in international business from UCF.