The Future of Public Administration: Two Graduate Students Awarded Herbert Roback Scholarship

Each year, the Graduate School puts forth two institutional nominees for the Herbert Roback Scholarship awarded by the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA). This scholarship honors the late Herbert Roback: a highly respected public servant who spent more than three decades encouraging talented and promising students to consider careers in public service, established by his family and friends to perpetuate his work. The NAPA committee selects one candidate annually from a pool of institutional nominees across the DC-metropolitan area. 

This year, they were so impressed with the quality of candidates’ application packages that they selected two. Both are from Georgetown.

Congratulations to Jada Fraser, Master of Arts candidate in Asian Studies (MASIA), and Ignacio Albe, Master of Science candidate in Foreign Service, both winners of the 2023-24 Herbert Roback Scholarship.

Here’s what our scholars have to say about their experience, career aspirations and advice to future applicants.

Q&A with Jada Fraser (G’24)

How do you feel about being selected for the scholarship?

I’m thrilled to have been selected to receive the Herbert Roback scholarship! I’m sincerely grateful to my mentors, those who wrote my letters of recommendation for the award, and those whose support has encouraged me to pursue opportunities like this one.

What are your hopes or plans for pursuing a career in public service/administration?

This summer, I was fortunate enough to intern at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Headquarters in Honolulu with the support of the MASIA program at Georgetown. This experience exposed me to on-the-ground public service at the intersection of multiple parts of government. Learning from State Department diplomats, military officials and intelligence analysts has enhanced my understanding of several public service pathways. 

While I’m still figuring out the “when” part of my career trajectory into working in government, the “where” part is a lot less daunting now since I know there are a number of places in the U.S. government where I feel that I could take part in fulfilling work that informs and implements U.S. strategy in the Indo-Pacific. While I’m still a ways out from graduating, as it currently stands, I plan to apply for Ph.D. programs as well as fellowships that help secure civil servant positions in the U.S. government for recent graduates.

What do you think made your application stand out?

I think that my application essay, resume and letters of recommendation, when taken collectively, clearly reflected my passion for working on U.S. foreign and defense policy in Asia and my dedication to pursuing a career in public service. In my essay, I tried to connect the bullet points on my resume with a larger narrative about why I pursued those experiences, what I took away from them, how those experiences reinforced my desire to work in public service, as well as what other skills and knowledge I hope to build throughout the rest of my graduate school experience. My letters of recommendation came from former supervisors who have mentored me and played a large role in shaping my understanding of what being a public servant looks like. Essentially, all my application materials were really speaking in one voice and emphasizing both from a personal and a professional perspective the “why” and the “how” of my career goal to work in public service focused on the intersection of defense and diplomacy in Asia.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

The most important advice I could give is to believe that you should apply. I’ve personally self-selected out of opportunities before (and almost did exactly that with the Roback scholarship) because I’ve seen previous recipients or knew about people who have gotten said award before, and instantly compared myself to those people and tended to find myself lacking in comparison. Especially speaking as a woman, we tend to do this at significantly higher rates. So apply, and apply with the belief that you are a worthy applicant! And if you’re thinking about applying and want more personal and specific advice, I am more than happy to help however I can. Feel free to reach out to me at jcf136@georgetown.edu.

Q&A with Ignacio Albe (G’24)

How do you feel about being selected for the scholarship?

I feel incredibly honored to have been selected for this year’s Herbert Roback Scholarship by the National Academy of Public Administration. As an international student from Argentina, I also feel particularly grateful because this award will help me complete my studies at Georgetown. 

Perhaps more importantly, however, I am humbled because I believe that this distinction represents a recognition of the importance of Latin American affairs by one of the most important public policy organizations in the United States. That is why I was deeply moved by this honor, because it will empower me to shed light on the work being done by countless Latin Americans who strive toward a greener, more resilient, and more interconnected continent.

What are your hopes or plans for pursuing a career in public service/administration?

My driving aspiration throughout my young career has been to help untap Latin America’s incredible potential. Those who know me will tell you how often I speak of my dream to participate in policy processes that can help foster widespread, equitable growth and innovation in a region that in many fields has been mired in stagnation. It is toward this end that I have been developing my skillset, be it through my studies in Buenos Aires, Beijing and Washington, or by working at the Inter-American Development Bank, the Inter-American Dialogue or the Georgetown Americas Institute. This path will hopefully lead me to serve in multilateral organizations such as the Organization of American States, working with national and subnational governments to strengthen and modernize energy, technology, and sustainability policy. NAPA’s award and my time at Georgetown will certainly be great aids that will help me achieve these goals.

What do you think made your application stand out?

I think that my time serving in local government in Argentina was a deeply formative period that has provided me with a unique perspective when thinking about international policy. In my application materials I spoke of that experience and how I came to see how local dynamics are often dismissed and ignored even though policy processes are inherently local in their impacts and implementation. 

In that context I mentioned how I am firmly committed to bringing this perspective into my career, where I hope to help empower subnational governments into playing a central role in transnational policy planning. For example, this is a hemisphere brimming with transformative potential in the global energy transition, but it needs stronger transnational coordination in energy, technology, local development and sustainability policy. And yet this is what is so exciting about Latin American public administration – the possibilities for policy innovation and reform are endless in the context of evolving regional institutions.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

I believe that the key is to show your passion for transformative public administration in whatever field you are deeply committed to. Herbert Roback embodied this spirit through the numerous government reorganizations he led in the United States, and I believe that we can all learn from his lessons and work toward the constant modernization and reform of our governing institutions, no matter their level. I think applicants should share their hopes and dreams and how they plan to achieve them by working tirelessly to transform the world around them for the benefit of those they wish to serve in whatever small ways they can.

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If you have questions about the Roback Scholarship or other graduate fellowships and awards at Georgetown, please contact our Associate Director of Graduate Fellowships & Awards, Elizabeth George at Elizabeth.George@georgetown.edu.