After months of emails and conference calls, it is always a delight to finally put faces to names and voices.  Our conference coordinators, Amy and Kayla commandeered the “Piano Room” off the main lobby and set-up all our check-in, informal meet and greets, and of course, burritos.  I got nametagged, and then we headed over to Duques Hall for our evening of speakers and lobbying preparation.

Our featured speaker was retired Representative Tom Davis, a Republican from Virginia.  He served seven terms in the House, retiring in 2008 to work in the private sector.  Congressman Davis was inspiring, funny, motivating, and very, very real.  He supports the Academy, the bill and the mission, and really understands the need for an institution like this.  He is especially concerned about the massive numbers in the federal workforce alone that will be retiring in the next 10 years, and sees the Academy as one way to attract and retain the best and brightest to public sector careers.

We could not agree more!

“I hate government because I know these guys…and let me tell you,
the weakest most drunken, f*#$ing incompetents went to work for the
U.S. government because they weren’t smart enough for the private
sector,” says the fictional Jeff Skilling, a character based on former
Enron chief Jeff Skilling in the Broadway play “Enron.”

Sadly the fictional Mr. Skilling has a point, especially if we base
his conclusions on recent headlines these past few months. Granted,
there are many dedicated and talented employees in civil service, but
is our government really attracting the best and brightest? Are new
ideas about evaluations, performance, business practices, and
management permeating the policies and actions of our nation’s largest
employers: federal, state, and local government agencies? Let’s
explore some problems:

First, in the wake of the worst financial crisis in decades, it
emerges that “dozens” of Securities and Exchange Commission employees
have been using government computers to access pornographic images.
Some senior staffers raking in more than $200,000 per year spent their
work time on the tax payers’ dime cruising XXX Web sites. While our
economy takes a trip on a terrifying roller coaster and thousands of
people have lost their jobs and savings accounts, these dirtbags are
downloading porn instead of policing the financial community like they
are paid to do. Talk about a group of folks with moral fortitude. It’s
disgusting.

Second, BusinessWeek recently called the Mine Safety and Health
Administration “broken” in the wake of allegations that the agency
allowed companies to avoid penalties through a flawed system. The same
flawed system that may have led to the tragic death of 29 workers at
Massey Energy Co.’s Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia
last month (the worst U.S. mining explosion in 40 years). The question
here is: if the MSHA system is “broken,” why weren’t MSHA leaders
trying to “fix” it? The image of a group of insipid paper-pushers
operating day-in and day-out within a broken system, lacking the
initiative and energy required to overhaul it (despite knowledge that
sticking with the status-quo could cost lives), is depressing. It
shouldn’t take a tragedy to get these people off their
“that’s-the-way-it’s-always-been-done” butts and modernize, fix, test,
and adjust our “broken” federal systems.

And finally, a federal judge was caught putting up a “funny” porn site
while sitting on the bench during court (an obscenity trial, no less),
an IRS employee was caught evading taxes on more than $40,000 of eBay
income, and a National Park Service employee was downloading sexually
explicit images while at work (read more here).

Shouldn’t these civil servants be busy working while at work? Someone
needs to step in, make the government accountable, efficient, and
up-to-date with the latest management practices.

Our country’s continued strength depends, to a certain degree, on
being able to weed out or re-train these pencil-pushing bureaucrats.
We need a cadre of smart, well-trained patriotic young people serving
their country in a civilian capacity. We need them to make sure our
roads are safe, our drinking water isn’t contaminated, our streets are
free from crime, and when we pay their salaries with our tax dollars,
we are getting our money’s worth.

The U.S. Public Service Academy will help tackle the negative stigma
that associates public sector work lazy, red-tape-bound bureaucrats.
The Academy will change the way we prepare our young civilian leaders,
and it will positively impact the way the public perceives public
service.

Ironically, the stage production of “Enron” is following in the
footsteps of its namesake and closing this month. It will go down in
history as one of the most “lavish flops” on Broadway in recent years
with losses estimated at $3.5 million-$4 million.

With the coming of the Academy and a new age of bright, enthusiastic
government employees, we are certain that Skilling’s quote regarding
civil servants will also become a part of history – and hopefully with
it will go the egregious behavior of civil servants everywhere.

Being from Pennsylvania, my day started at “Breakfast with Bob,” an event where Sen. Bob Casey from Pennsylvania meets with anyone visiting from PA. At breakfast, not only did we get a picture and a chance to talk with Senator Casey, but he handed us his signed endorsement of the legislation that would create a U.S. Public Service Academy. After breakfast, we moved from office to office, speaking with Congressmen and women and their staffers and gaining support for the bill. At the end of the day, after a spirited meeting with Rep. Rick Renzi from Arizona, my group had gathered four or five Academy endorsements and personally met a handful of Senators and Representatives.

Attending the Public Service Academy Conference was an awesome experience and one that left me wanting to spend more time on Capitol Hill. Last semester as part of Syracuse’s Maxwell in Washington Program, I was selected for an internship in Sen. Casey’s DC office. My time with the Academy YAC played a large part in helping me land that experience, and it was one that I absolutely loved. If you’re thinking about attending, it is a great decision. If you’d like to learn more about my experience, I’d be happy to share with you. Send me an email at tfbiba@syr.edu.

But most importantly–Sign up and go this summer!!

I just wanted to take a minute to urge all of you to come out to the 2010 US Public Service Academy Youth Conference this July! I went to the Conference in 2008 and it was honestly one of the best experiences of my life. I met face to face with numerous members of Congressmen and Congresswomen’s staff and in several cases actually met face to face with various Congressmen. I was even able to personally secure the endorsements of two Congressmen from my state that weekend, which made it well worth it! And the cost of the trip is unbelievable, you get a whole weekend in DC for a price you can’t get anywhere else.

Well, we say, get to reporting and commenting then, Mr. Brokaw!

The effort to create the academy will only be achieved through broad dissemination of this phenomenal idea to citizens of the United States of America. And dissemination is what people like Tom Brokaw do best.

Mr. Brokaw, you might not be able to work it in on NBC, but you do have the capacity to build, maybe not buildings, but public support.

Case in point: Jocelyn chose to write to Brokaw after hearing about a speech he gave to her brothers, midshipmen at the US Naval Academy. In his remarks Brokaw challenged the midshipmen to connect with siblings and other youth, encouraging them to join in community and military service.

This is exactly what Jocelyn is asking for with the Public Service Academy. Brokaw used his voice at the Naval Academy to “build” action amongst the midshipmen. Now we need to ask him to broaden the scope and include the U.S. Public Service Academy. Ask him to “build” action amongst audiences he speaks with, encouraging them to learn about and support the Academy. He has already agreed that it is a fantastic idea. What’s the hold up?

Already lawmakers from both aisles are supportive of the idea and legislation is moving along, but more Americans need to know about this. Adding more famous faces like Brokaw’s would be a welcome addition to the publicity effort, helping engage citizens, increase awareness, and push the campaign forward.

After the initial contact with Brokaw, Jocelyn isn’t deterred. “I immediately sent him another letter stating that, yes, he could help and should help and listed other famous people that are supporters of the Academy.”

Over three dozen USPSA supporters have written Mr. Brokaw letters already. Join us and ask Mr. Brokaw to use his voice, as a celebrity, journalist, and opinion leader, to spread the word. And better yet, after writing to Tom Brokaw, find a spokesperson you think would make a good supporter and try to get him or her to use his or her “platform” to support the Public Service Academy. Be sure to us the results of your efforts!

You can reach Tom Brokaw at NBC, Inc., Attn: Tom Brokaw, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112.

And if you think snail mail letter-writing campaigns aren’t effective, think again. I accidentally sent 1500 magazines to a man in Iowa and got everyone’s attention. Just make sure you encourage the recipient to recycle the paper afterward.

— In addition to her role as a YAC member, Jocelyn Gruber is the current title holder for Miss America Outstanding Teen - Miss Greater Johnstown (PA) Area Outstanding Teen. Jocelyn’s platform in the scholarship program is the US Public Service Academy.

But then another identity about MLK Day began to take shape, and that was the idea of committing yourself to a day of service. Instead of a day off, MLK Day is a day ON. Use the day to serve your community by giving your time to work at a homeless shelter, pick up trash at the beach or park, do home visits to the elderly, mentor a kid, even take yourself down the local police and fire stations and introduce yourself to the people who will protect you in the event of an emergency. The sentiment behind this “Day On” is obvious: Dr. King was a man of action behind his words, which is what gave his leadership the credibility and the power to create change. If we all participate by serving, then we carry on the legacy of civil equality.

What if you are reading this at work? Or you click on this tonight after your epic powder day? What if you did not have the opportunity to volunteer today and now that you think of it you really want to do something in the spirit of MLK, and you have already donated and prayed for Haiti (and keep doing that too by the way)? I have something for you to do.

I would like you to support the US Public Service Academy, either for the first time, or the 48th time. I would like you to call or write an email to your Representative and to your Senators. If you have not signed the petition to create the first undergraduate institution to train public servants in leadership, policy, emergency management, ethics etc. in return for five years of service, then do that too. I would like you to demand of your Representatives and Senators that you want a place where young people are educated to serve the needs of the people so that the margin for error during an emergency like a Katrina or a Haiti is slim to none. Did you text off a donation to Haiti? Did spend a mere five minutes on that task and then post it to your Facebook status? Well, then spend 15 minutes today using your voice to demand that our government place value on the people who want to take care of our education, our safety, our health, by creating an institution on par with our military academies to train them. We deserve this.

Get to links for your Reps and Senators offices by going to this link on the USPSA website, or here or here. You can fill out one of their email forms, or call their offices directly to speak to a staffer. Other than the most obvious civic duty which is voting, it is also our job to tell our elected officials how to do theirs. They serve us, not vice versa. Use your time today to make MLK proud and participate in the process of being a citizen. It is a great honor and I guarantee you will feel fulfilled. Thank you for your support as always.

Part of my motivation for acting as California’s State Coordinator in USPSA’s efforts is rooted directly in my experience as a Teach For America corps member. I liked the idea of making public service more accessible to college students, and providing those future public servants with a rigorous education. What got me hooked, however, was the initial comparison made to Teach For America. What kept me going through my 70 hour work weeks, in addition to the amazing kids in my Los Angeles classroom, was my belief that I was part of a larger movement working towards something critically important- educational equity. The culture that I observed and participated in, both as a corps member and as staff at the Summer Institute training program, was one of professionalism, dedication to students and the larger mission, and relentless pursuit of results. What if building a United States Public Service Academy could do for jobs in government what Teach For America has done for teaching positions in low-income public schools?

My experience in the classroom propelled me towards graduate research in Social Policy, will guide me in the policy and advocacy job market when I complete my degree, and has encouraged me to consistently give money and time to child focused non-profits and legislative efforts. Teach For America is the most formative professional experience I’ve had. Stanford’s study, “Assessing the Long-Term Effects of Youth Service: The Puzzling Case of Teach For America”, suggests that not all corps members feel the same way I do:

“Financed by the William T. Grant Foundation, the study surveyed every person who was accepted by Teach for America from 1993 to 1998. It is being published this month in Social Forces, a journal published by the University of North Carolina. The study compared “graduates,” who completed their two years; “dropouts,” who entered the program but left before the two years were up; and “nonmatriculants,” who were accepted but declined the offer. It included 1,538 graduates, 324 dropouts and 634 nonmatriculants. Nearly 45 percent of those sampled returned the 34-page survey.

While Teach for America graduates remain far more active than their peer group, the findings indicate that the program neither achieves an earlier organizational goal of “making citizens” nor produces people who, in great numbers, take their civic commitments beyond the field of education.”

Does this imply that my original motivation for supporting USPSA was somehow flawed? I completed Teach For America three years ago, but my teaching experience is still relatively fresh in my mind. Do the study results foreshadow a possible future self- more cynical, less engaged? Regardless of the results of this study, I believe it is possible for an organization to instill a culture and create a network that can work for the broader good in a systemic, long term capacity. Although the verdict on TFA may still be unclear, and perhaps hard to ever measure accurately, I believe the United States Public Service Academy’s impact on our generation may be quite powerful.

USPSA students will enroll at 18, graduate at about 21, and then work in public service through age 26; this experience will help to create a cohesive culture of service among America’s youth. When I was in college, and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life after graduating, one of Teach For America’s recruitment flyers caught my attention. It asked: “Over 90% of members of Congress have law degrees. What would our country look like if over 90% had experience teaching in a low-income public school?” What would our country look like if more talented, rigorously trained college seniors committed to a wide spectrum of public service positions? Passing H.R. 2102 will help us find out. ~Genevieve Quist