Communications Director, Majority Staff
House Committee on Foreign Relations
Washington, D.C.

A journalist since college, Lynne Weil spent nearly nine years in Europe--first as a freelancer based in Germany for National Public Radio and other media, then in Rome as a correspondent for Catholic News Service--when she felt she had reached a crossroads in her career. She decided that pursuing a mid-career degree would open up new possibilities and help sort out her options.

Lynne had heard of the Woodrow Wilson School's excellent reputation from colleagues in Washington and abroad, and decided to look into the Master in Public Policy program. She spoke with many people--including alumni from other public policy programs--who had very positive things to say about WWS. "Once I made my decision to attend WWS, the School was gracious enough to let me defer my studies by a year in order to take part in an academic fellowship program to get my feet wet in Washington. After a dozen years as a journalist, it was good to get some practical public policy experience under my belt before diving into theory and textbooks.

"Many of the reading selections in my classes were by authors who are influential in foreign policy, so I received a good grounding in current thinking in my field. Courses on American national security policy, the challenges of international diplomacy, and the psychology of public policy have proven to be especially useful. I also found it helpful to have the chance to be a teaching assistant in an undergraduate class on the ethics of public policy; the readings made me think carefully about issues that I might have to face in my field, and I went on to create an independent study course so I could explore these matters more deeply for myself. I am particularly thankful for the emphasis placed on presentation skills, both in class and in optional workshops, which did much to prepare me for my new role in public policy."