Meet Zachary German, a first year CIPA fellow concentrating in Social Policy and focusing in health care. Following his passion to address healthcare policy, Zachary shares some of his experiences, motivations, and his decision to pursue his MPA at CIPA.
Hello! Welcome to the CIPA Admissions Blog. My name is Zachary German and I grew up in and around Albany, N.Y. I attended Hartwick College as an undergraduate where I completed two degrees. For three years during college I worked as an emergency medical technician in a rural area, after I graduated I moved into bed management and patient placement logistics in a community hospital. During my experience in healthcare I observed new policy implementation and participated in policy development. These experiences are what piqued my interest in health policy and inspired my choice to pursue an MPA at Cornell’s Institute for Public Affairs. I have a B.S. in Business Administration and a B.A. in Biological Sciences. The respective emphases I placed in my undergraduate studies were leadership, management, and healthcare sciences. I have been able to continue to pursue these academic interests through CIPA and integrate them in the MPA program with a concentration in social policy focused specifically on health policy.
When I first started looking at master’s degree programs I was not looking only at MPA programs. I considered MBA, MHA, and M.S. programs. I finally narrowed my choice to two programs, which I applied and was accepted to both. These programs were CIPA’s MPA and Weill Cornell’s M.S. in Health Policy and Economics. I ultimately chose the CIPA program over the Weill Cornell program due to the wealth of resources available on the Ithaca campus that would be catered to my interests (such as the program’s relationship with the Sloan program in Health Administration and the opportunity to pursue a joint MPA/MHA program), CIPA’s accommodating flexibility that allows students to customize the program to their specific interests, and my preference for CIPA’s professional master’s degree format rather than Weill’s research-based master’s degree program.
So far, my first few weeks at CIPA have been a little crazy but equally exciting which is to be expected when starting a new program. I have kept busy attending events that work to introduce new CIPA fellows to the logistics and culture of the program; adjusting to the pace and layout of the classes; balancing classes and assignments with my work schedule at the hospital; making connections with local professionals for future internship opportunities; and getting to know the surrounding area, which has an abundance of great restaurants, wineries, breweries, state parks, hiking trails, incredible views, museums, and music venues.