Carpooling is fun...or How to catch pertussis in 30 miles

So I have about a 30 mile commute to work - one way - everyday. A lot of people (and by a lot of people, I really mean my best friend who could walk backwards using one leg and still get to work in 3 minutes) ask me how I do it, and I tell them that I am used to it, since it used to be 40 miles one way. We actually moved two years ago, and one of our prequisites was to live closer to work...and we did find that perfect house which met this condition. It lessened our commute by one mile...hey, we cut off two minutes.

i am a fail whale

if you're not on twitter, you may not know what the fail whale is, which is probably a good thing. twitter is highly addictive; don't join it if you value your time :) i find it a little ironic/amusing/aggravating that as i write this, the fail whale is taunting me. "too many tweets" is exactly how i'm feeling at the moment. i've reached the point in the semester where i'm constantly freaking out about everything

How I Landed in the MPA Program

With an undergraduate degree from Maryland in mathematics, someone today asked me how I ended up studying public policy. It's kind of an interesting story.

I had worked for a Federal agency for a few years and done some volunteer work with nonprofits in Howard County and at UMD. I became interested in governmental and nonprofit management and even gained some knowledge in government finance. So I began looking for a graduate program that may meet those interests. In Maryland, two programs stood out. The first is the UMBC program in economic policy analysis. The second was the University of Baltimore program in public administration.

The UB program offered a few niceties the UMBC program didn't. It was designed for working professionals, allowing me to schedule courses around work. The MPA program's flexibility even allowed me to schedule around my volunteer activites. This was nice. The MPA program also offers an articulation option with the UMBC doctoral program in public policy, allowing me to extend my education past graduation from UB. I took that option.

I spent four semesters taking classes at both UB and UMBC, which offered many different perspectives on some material. Additionally, UMBC offers some economics courses UB does not. But UB offers financial management courses UMBC does not. I was able to get the best of both worlds this way. I am now finishing my first full year at UMBC, grateful for the preperation in social sciences the UB program gave a math geek. And what I learned in the UB program I continue to extend in my professional and volunteer lives, and even at home.

The University and Mass Transit

The University of Baltimore is a great school for those who are mass-transit bound, but not just those in Baltimore. The University itself is next to the Mt. Royal stop on the Baltimore Light Rail system. But I live in Columbia and work in DC. Light rail would not cut it.

Fortunately, MTA's MARC service runs from Union Station on Capital Hill in DC directly to Penn Station, which is conveniently across the street from the University of Baltimore's Academic Center. Scheduling a pick up with my wife once a week made it possible to attend evening classes despite working in the District and keeping green.

Because of this, it is important that the University of Baltimore take a role in the future of Baltimore's mass transit development. Discussion of both the Baltimore Red Line and a Charles Street trolly are especially relevant because they will link the University's campus to the vibrant communities surrounding Mt. Vernon, Harbour Place, and the Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus, and also link the campus to leading employment centers, such as the Social Security Administration. This will only benefit everyone associated with UB.