Meet Our Program Advisors: Hunter Berry ’20
By: Hunter Berry ’20, Program Advisor – Public Policy + Economics
For a long time now, I’ve known that I had an interest in law, but I’ve always had a hard time narrowing down what interested me about it. For a while, I thought corporate law was the place for me, before then switching to a more government-focused path. While it was something I could see myself doing, it wasn’t necessarily what I was passionate about. Luckily, TFAS helped me realize what it truly was that I wanted to do.
Last summer, I participated in The TFAS Virtual Summer Program. Although I’d been to D.C. before, I was excited to get to truly experience the city and see everything it had to offer. Unfortunately, we all know the impact that the COVID-19 has had on the world and our country. My experience was going to be virtual, and while I was bummed, I decided to do it still, and I’m so glad I did.
I ended up taking two classes, U.S. Foreign Policy and Economic Problems and Public Policies. Although both classes were enjoyable, the latter class with Dr. Coyne was by far my favorite. We got the chance to talk a lot about some of the different areas of public policy and law and how they overlapped with economics, and the class really changed my perspective on things. I ended up getting really invested in economics, adding the minor when I got back to school that fall, and I now plan on pursuing a career in public policy and law.
However, it wasn’t just my classes at TFAS or Berry College that influenced me to do this. Indeed, a lot of the other TFAS events helped guide me to this path. At my internship with The Charles Group, I got to see the interactions between government and business, something I had always been interested in but never experienced firsthand. My experience was further heightened by things like my technology seminar group, where we got to dive deeper into business, government, and the areas they overlap with in terms of just technology and science. As someone who studies both of these “areas,” this was a great experience for me to have, not to mention the countless other TFAS lectures and briefings I got to attend.
So, that being said, I just want to say how excited I am to be coming back to D.C. this summer to work with TFAS! I really enjoyed my time in the program last summer, whether it was classes, my internships, or interacting with friends and learning about leadership techniques and stories through the Leadership Scholars Program! I am excited to help other students find their passions in D.C. this summer, whether it’s navigating through their own internships or figuring out some of their life plans, much like I did while there.
Follow my adventures in Washington, D.C. on Instagram @dcpublicpolicy.
Program Advisors, informally known as PAs, are recent TFAS alumni who live in student housing and help current students navigate the program and Washington, D.C. during the summer.