SuccessWorks on Badgers on Track and Microinternships by 1050 Bascom

In this episode of 1050 Bascom, we had the opportunity to speak with Prof. Michael Wagner from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UW-Madison. Prof. Wagner’s research focuses on many issues at the epicenter of public discourse in contemporary American politics in “normal times.” In these unprecedented times of global pandemic and civil rights protests, Prof. Wagner’s work on conspiracy thinking, misinformation and social media, and political polarization speak directly to questions about the health and future of civic democracy in the United States. We learned a lot from our discussion Prof. Wagner, and hope you will too. Listen here.

In this episode, we interviewed Marie Koko, the Senior Career Services Coordinator in the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison. Many of our majors are familiar with Marie, who was an award-winning career advisor at SuccessWorks before moving over to La Follette last year. Marie offered us concrete advice for students seeking jobs and internship during the pandemic. She also shared helpful information about the undergraduate Public Policy Certificate at La Follette and the School’s Accelerated Master’s program open to selected UW-Madison undergraduates. We learned a lot from our conversation with Marie about public policy programs and preparing for post-graduate professional opportunities more generally.

In this episode, we had the opportunity to interview Kate Kruizenga, Chief of Staff and Head of Strategy & Operations for the Business Development team at Dropbox in the San Francisco Bay area. Kate shared her hiring insights, focusing on how to distinguish yourself on the job market and offered concrete advice on developing a unique "narrative pitch" in your applications and interviews. We found Kate’s thoughts on the importance of identifying positions that reflect your values as students, employees, and citizens of the community inspiring. We learned a lot from our conversation with Kate and hope you will too.

In this episode of 1050 Bascom, we talked to Prof. Doug McLeod from the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communications to discuss media coverage of the BLM protests and social movements more generally. Prof. McLeod shared his insights about how fundamental changes in the media system in the 21st century has played out in both media coverage and public opinion formation surrounding our current political environment. Prof. McLeod also offers his analysis of the pros and cons of how a 24-hour news cycle along with increasingly partisan media has created a shift in focus from hard news to opinion and the impact this has had on politics, campaigns and elections.

Career Conversations with Sam Nitz, Partner at Fireside Campaigns in DC by 1050 Bascom

L&S Dean Eric Wilcots on Teaching and Learning during Covid-19, and Political Protest by 1050 Bascom

1050 Bascom had the extreme pleasure of interviewing best-selling author and podcaster Alyssa Mastromonaco. A Political Science Badger alum and a member of the department’s Board of Visitors, Alyssa served as former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for the Obama Administration. She talked us through her political pathway from a feel-the-Bern intern in Vermont for Bernie Sanders and a politically active student at UW-Madison to working on several presidential campaigns and then for eight years focused on domestic and international policy in the Obama Administration. She also offered her take on leadership in divisive times and spoke to the ongoing protests following the death of George Floyd. We learned so much from talking with her Alyssa and found her practical career advice for people at all professional levels – always get the easy stuff right, show humility, be a meaningful team player - invaluable.

The Federal Government in Covid-19 and Crisis Preparation with Eileen Harrington by 1050 Bascom

1050 Bascom had the pleasure of interviewing, Margaret Henoch, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer and member of the Steady State. Margaret worked in the Directorate of Operations, also known as the clandestine service, of the Agency and served in senior positions at the CIA headquarters and stations abroad. Margaret spoke with us about her career path, her work in the CIA in the aftermath of 9/11 and her involvement with the Steady State. She also shared her insights on the information gathering role the CIA plays in global pandemics like Covid-19. We thoroughly enjoyed our conversation with Margaret and hope you will too.