Public Affairs Conference Celebrates Milestone
Principia’s Public Affairs Conference (PAC) marked a significant milestone in early April with its 70th anniversary. Through the decades, PAC has addressed global and domestic issues while identifying possible solutions, and this year’s conference, “Education: Your Asset for Global Change," was no exception.
The PAC Board, made up of 11 students from a range of majors, began planning the conference last spring. Speakers from across the country and around the world shared insight from their respective fields. Brittany Packnett, a 2018 fellow at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics and a former member of President Barack Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, delivered the keynote address. Packnett, who also serves as vice president of national community alliances at Teach for America and was ranked third on Politico’s guide to the “thinkers, doers and visionaries transforming American politics in 2016,” shared insight about social equity and education and provided context for the conference.
The roster of speakers included these individuals as well:
- John Dau, one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan" featured in the documentary God Grew Tired of Us and founder of the John Dau Foundation
- Flynn Coleman, human rights lawyer and assistant professor at The New School
- Robin Pendoley, founder and CEO of Thinking Beyond Borders
- Rebecca Ginsburg, founder and director of the Education Justice Project
Conference delegates also explored the role education plays in the 21st-century job market during a panel presentation moderated by junior Tara Adhikari, who served on the PAC Board. The panelists—Lauren Maffeo, associate principal analyst at Gartner Digital Markets in Bethesda, Maryland; Dr. Sarah Andrews (US’03, C'07), assistant professor of global studies at Principia; Rob Seay, director of Human Resources at Bonfyre App in St. Louis; and Annika Erickson (C’17), technical program manager at Salesforce in San Francisco—offered insight on leveraging liberal arts skills in today’s workplace. “Companies certainly hire people who bring technical skills, but managers also want employees who can see what is coming next—and a liberal arts education provides the skills necessary for success in a fast-paced tech setting,” says Erickson, who manages a team of engineers developing product security solutions in locations across the U.S.
Since PAC is a student-led endeavor, the organizers gained invaluable practical experience as they chose the topic, selected speakers, arranged transportation, organized venues, handled publicity, worked within a budget, and tended to numerous details over months of planning. “PAC is so unique because not only does it give students a chance to take charge of all aspects of a project, but it also brings the world to Principia,” says junior Sally Abouchar, conference co-director. “The experience gave me a good perspective on team leadership. Our board created a collaborative environment [during the conference] where everyone’s opinion was valued, allowing deep engagement with the issues that were brought up during the talks.”