I was in Uganda working on malaria prevention and I want to go back soon. But first I’m interning in DC, in the final days leading up to inauguration to help build the U.S. Public Service Academy. Here’s the short version of how I got here.

After helping to start an anti-malaria bednet distribution program in Uganda, I graduated from Swarthmore College and received a social entrepreneur fellowship to continue the work. I started learning more about social entrepreneurship, which is all about using entrepreneurial principles to benefit society. I was listening to podcasts about social entrepreneurs at Social Edge on the blog New Entrepreneurs when I stumbled across a podcast with Chris Myers Asch, founder of the U.S. Public Service Academy. I loved the idea and I wanted to get involved, so I went to the website, applied for an internship, and came to DC.

A few reasons why I am excited about the U.S. Public Service Academy:

1. This is an amazing way to train a new generation of leaders in public service

2. Young people want to serve this country and this will give them the opportunity

3. The benefits to society are enormous. A cost-benefit analysis conducted at the George Washington University’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration found that the economic benefits of the Academy outweighed the costs by an annual amount of $50 million. That’s $50 million a year in benefits to society.

Want to get involved? There are so many ways to help out!