Story by Dwain Hebda
Louisiana-born Sara Ross remembers knowing she wanted to devote her career to service while still in high school.
It was a decision that would take her far and wide to execute, including Little Rock, Arkansas, where she graduated from the Clinton School of Public Service in 2022.
“I think it was probably sometime when I was around 16 or 17. I was involved in a lot of community service organizations and I really found the act of service is both selfish and selfless,” Ross said. “As I got older, I realized that it was something I could do as a career but also still make an impact. I think that’s why I love service so much, because you get to see the impact in real time.”
Ross’ passion led her into a string of service roles, including with AmeriCorps, Jump Start, Read Alliance and City Year New York. All of these held their own unique challenges but none quite as jarring as her initial Clinton School experience.
“I was in the cohort that started in February 2020, so COVID came in right at month two,” she said. “That was a bit of a shock from having to think about being online maybe two nights every week to I’m online at work and then I’m online for school as well. I think in the beginning it was kind of jarring for everyone in the world; the entire world had to pivot.”
Ross, an LSU undergraduate who completed her Master of Public Service through Clinton School Online, said she soon found her groove. While some might have found distance learning isolating, Ross said just the opposite was true.
“I didn’t think that I would be so connected to my classmates,” she said. “We found ways to connect with one another that were new. We built community online in ways that were really, really awesome. I wasn’t expecting things to be so cohesive.
“I also liked the accessibility that I had to the instructors and the professors. It was really good to be able to shoot an email to someone, whether they be a classmate, an instructor or advisor, and just be able to have a support system.”
The interaction helped make the many group projects that comprise the Clinton School methodology particularly impactful, said Ross.
“Getting to work with other people who are somewhat like-minded but in different areas, and being able to bring that together to create meaningful projects and meaningful work was one of my favorite aspects,” she said. “Working with people from diverse thought processes was really nice.
“I was even able to get all my friends and some work colleagues on a Zoom to discuss different things I wouldn’t imagine I’d be able to do in person. I was able to say, ‘I’m doing a project for a class. I’d love for you to join because I think your voice would be very important. Here’s the Zoom link.’ People joined and people had discussions with people who never met each other and were able to talk and share. That probably wouldn’t have happened if everyone wasn’t already online.”
Even something as involved as her Capstone project, which she completed working with Northwest Arkansas-based Creative Arts Community Hub and Exchange, was impactful despite being completed from afar under challenging conditions, she said.
“My Capstone was working with and helping create a survey to gauge the types of artists and things that they had in the area, to catalog them, and also help [CACHE] with funding and programs,” she said. “We were using a lot of data to create a survey based on past surveys, but also thinking about what the need in the future might be.
“There might be an arts organization somewhere out there in Northwest Arkansas that might just be two people that need a little bit more of a boost in funding or in exposure. We were looking for ways to make sure that they are known so they can get their art to people, but also people can get to them.”
Ross also used the Clinton School experience as a stepping stone for pursuing her MBA, which she is currently pursuing through Bard College, focusing on sustainable finance and social impact.
“This is going to sound funny, but I actually chose to go back to [the Clinton] school because I wanted to relearn academia,” she said. “It had been a while since I graduated from undergrad and I found that the Clinton School retaught me how to do school again – being able to collaborate with people and reading something that’s not a work thing, but a project to read for academic purposes. I think it helped me learn to love school again. That was really nice.”
As for her career outlook, she said she has renewed vigor and perspective for her role with City Year New York, as well as a summer internship as an Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps Fellow with Centerbridge Partners.
“The Clinton School helped me realize that a lot of people are public servants, not just politicians. It showed me that anybody who is doing something good for the overall public and community is actually a public servant,” she said. “Having that mindset really does help you see the impact that each individual person is able to make. I think that broadened my understanding of what it means to be a public servant.”
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