College Experiences That Helped a Fiscal and Policy Analyst at City of Seattle Succeed
Sarah's undergraduate experience, characterized by exploring diverse subjects and prioritizing joy—"I really just followed my nose"—rather than a rigid career path, unexpectedly shaped their career. This approach, including involvement in the leadership group unicam and urban planning courses, fostered valuable relationships and developed their intuition, leading to a fulfilling career trajectory.
Career Exploration, Following Passion, Networking, Extracurricular Involvement, Joyful Learning
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Sarah Burtner
Fiscal and Policy Analyst
City of Seattle
UCLA, 2014
Masters in Special Education and Teaching at CUNY Hunter College, Masters of Public Policy at UCLA
Economics
Government & Public Sector
Data and Analytics
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Taking diverse courses across disciplines (French, computer science, linguistics) broadened my perspective and skillset.
2. Involvement in extracurricular activities like unicam, a leadership group, fostered valuable connections and friendships that have lasted throughout my career.
3. Following my interests and pursuing things that sparked joy, rather than solely focusing on career-related classes, led to unexpected opportunities and a fulfilling career path.
Transcript
What did you do in undergrad that set you up for success in your career?
In undergrad, I didn't declare a major until my junior year. In hindsight, I think I was very stressed about that. I took so many classes, including French and Linguistics, which I didn't need for computer science.
I took so many random classes and met so many people. At an institution like UCLA, it almost feels like you don't have a ton of flexibility to take a bunch of different things because of the general education requirements.
I feel like I really just followed my nose in undergrad. I truly tried to do things that brought me joy. I spent a lot of time with Unicamp, which was my main extracurricular. Those are my best friends to this day; they are some of the best people I've ever met.
Professionally, I thought, "Oh, I like working with kids," and that's why I did TFA. Those people I know are teachers and social workers, and throughout our careers, we have kept in touch. We've been references for each other and stayed in the same universe of work.
It all started because we all really loved Unicamp and doing that work. Following my nose isn't a real professional term, but it is really finding the things that spark joy. Urban planning was another thing that I loved.
I loved learning about urban planning and having those educational experiences that really sparked joy. College was the first time I ever felt that, and it was something I wanted to keep chasing. I think that's been really good for my career path and developing my intuition. I try not to do things I felt I had to do; I really tried to do things that really spoke to me.