Public Service: Will Wanting to Help Today Work for Tomorrow
WASHINGTON – The contribution box at Keene State College for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was filled with $1,500 in just two weeks, and the Red Cross was quickly oversupplied with blood donations. But nearly two months after the terrorist attacks, Keene State students are still asking how they can help, and a new organization in the nation’s capital has a suggestion: Work for the federal government.
Jeromy Nelson, the president of Keene State’s student body, said that the Student Assembly receives five or six calls a week from students who want to help. Student Assembly chairwoman Erin Peterson said students are constantly in contact with her office. “They want something tangible to do,” she said.
According to the recently launched Partnership for Public Service, this new wave of concern and awareness could be transformed into an interest in public service careers and be the key to averting the “quiet crisis” that the nation faces if the federal government fails to attract talented workers. The government faces the prospect that 50 percent of its workforce will be eligible to retire in the next three years, including more than 70 percent of its senior managers.
And a report by the Partnership this week warns that the nation’s ability to respond to disaster could be severely threatened over the next five years because many agencies that play key roles under the federal response plan face losses of up to half their workforces. Among the agencies facing the highest potential employee losses are the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Defense Department.
“The need for public servants to be involved is greater now than it has been in a very, very, long time,” said Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization was launched Oct. 23. with a $25 million grant from Connecticut businessman and former Justice Department lawyer Samuel J. Heyman.
According to a survey conducted for the Partnership, most college-educated Americans reject the federal government as a prospective employer. Before Sept. 11, only 16 percent of college graduates expressed any significant interest. And despite improved satisfaction with the government after the terrorist attacks, only 18 percent in an October poll said their interest in federal employment had increased as a result.
“The events of Sept.11 put a spotlight on the importance government has in all our lives,” Stier said. But while Sept. 11 may have “opened the door,” Stier said, it “did not complete the sale.”
The Partnership is pursuing a strategy to enhance perceptions of public service, help the government recruit and train talented workers and improve the work environment. Its plan includes education outreach programs, increased communications and legislative reforms. “We need doctors. We need lawyers. We need researchers. We need analysts. We need scientists. We need teachers,” said Kay Coles James, director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, in a statement.
“We need people who will rise to the occasion and respond to the need for public service now.”
James said that since Sept. 11, the federal government has received thousands of phone calls from students on campuses across the country who are interested in public service. But Stier said that some problems need to be addressed before people will really be attracted to federal jobs.
“Polls show that the number one barrier is that people are not familiar with the opportunities,” Stier said. Another problem, he said, is that the federal government “does not reach out to people” and actively recruit students.
Keene State College’s Nelson agreed. “They need to publicize diversity in the jobs they offer,” Nelson said. “For example the FBI is not just drugs and terrorists. There’s an accounting level. There are many different roles.” Nelson suggested that federal agencies should advertise that their jobs suit specific talents and aspirations, similar to the way the “Army of One” campaign individualizes service in the military.
According to Stier, “any job you can think of that people want, the government wants,” from lawyers at the Justice Department to art historians at the Smithsonian museums, to emergency response workers at FEMA.
But even when the background and the available federal job match, people are still reluctant to work for the government. Jim Craiglow, president of the Antioch New England Institute in Keene, said that Antioch’s graduate students are trained “for the most part for positions in the public sector, whether it’s school teachers, environmental scientists or clinical psychologists.” But what may be “daunting about federal or state employment is the stereotypical bureaucratic nature,” he said.
“I think one worries that he or she can actually make a difference,” Craiglow said. “One sits back and says, ‘Do I really want to put myself in the middle of all that, because my gut sense is that I wouldn’t be able to make effective change.’ ”
Peterson, Keene State’s Student Assembly chairwoman, said she used to think about going into politics and “always dreamed of being, you know, the President.” But as an English and secondary education major, she’s refocused her goals, she said, the idea of politics as a career is no longer likely.
“There’s a lot of sneakiness in politics,” she said. “A lot of people don’t want to work in government fields because of the nasty stuff you hear goes on.”
A study two years ago about how the government is portrayed on television showed that it was “at the bottom of the barrel,” in the 1990s, said Pat McGinnis, the president and chief executive officer of the Council for Excellence in Government and a member of the board of the Partnership for Public Service. She said TV shows like “Law and Order” and “The West Wing” are among the more accurate and balanced programs that can help improve the government’s image.
But Peterson said that people considering a career in government still “feel they won’t get a lot accomplished. There are a lot of roadblocks.”
Stier said making government jobs more rewarding and making the application process less lengthy and difficult are two of the goals the Partnership is trying to help achieve.
And McGinnis said that a comprehensive Web site on federal jobs would help as well. She said the Partnership also has plans for a student loan forgiveness program for college graduates who enter federal service, along with salaries that are competitive with those in the private sector.
“I know, in this generation, a lot of people care about money,” said Krista Sielinski, a member of Keene State College’s Student Volunteer Organization. “So if the position offers a lot of money, they’d be more likely to take it.” She said she’s always been dedicated to public service, but as a school teacher, and what happened on Sept. 11 has not persuaded her to pursue a career in federal government.
“I think farther along the line, people are going to be interested though,” Sielenski said. “I know a lot of people want to make a difference.”
“I’ve seen an interest grow,” Nelson said of his fellow Keene State College students. “It seems as though more people are getting involved in political science careers·. I think a lot of people felt the need to volunteer. It [Sept.11] hit them as a shocker, and they felt as if they had to go do something.” Nelson said he wants to get involved in politics at the state level, and perhaps even at the national level.
While only some students may pursue federal service jobs, New Hampshire residents have a long history of involvement in volunteer public services. 1,259 have served in the Peace Corps since it was founded in 1961. Currently, 52 people from the Granite State are in the Corps. The Peace Corps’ regional office in Boston said there has been no dramatic increase in the number of people joining the organization since Sept. 11.
And this year, AmeriCorps, a domestic version of the Peace Corps, has more than 440 volunteers from New Hampshire. In return, AmeriCorps members receive an education award of up to $4,725 to help pay for college or pay back student loans.
