在风暴过后，一个服务焦点出现了

---

2019年7月10日发布

朱莉·杰克逊

---

---

Like many children, Eugenie塞利纳’s mom warned her to eat the food on her plate 因为世界上还有孩子在挨饿. 和大多数孩子一样，她知道 这意味着她最好把晚餐吃完.

Growing up in Pass Christian, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, 塞利纳 realized there 是那些没有足够食物的人吗. 但这个问题并没有直接影响到她， 所以这不是一个真正的问题. 直到2005年她高中最后一年. 

“When Hurricane Katrina hit, it completely changed my perspective,” said 塞利纳. In the weeks following the storm, she 和 her family received critical help from first responders, including Salvation Army volunteers who delivered hot meals every day. “Seeing how everyone was willing to help out during a disaster made me want to go 投身公共服务事业.”

事实证明，塞利尔的公共服务之路并不平坦. 她进了大学 of 南 Alabama in 2006 to study physical therapy before switching majors two more 次. When one of her roommates suggested she take a communications class, 塞利纳 同意. “我迷上了印刷新闻，并爱上了它.”  

2011年毕业，获得双学位 新闻 和 法国 在 文理学院, 塞利纳 continued her college job working in retail until a friend, a fellow 南 alumna, mentioned an opening for a child nutrition coordinator at the Bay Area Food 银行，现在被称为墨西哥湾沿岸. 

Without any experience in child nutrition 和 limited scope of the organization’s 塞利尔对这个职位的面试持怀疑态度. 然而,在 being offered the job, she readily accepted 和 hit the ground running. 

During her first year as child nutrition coordinator, 塞利纳 spent much of her time traveling to rural communities in Alabama, learning as much as she could about the 这些地区饥饿儿童的需求. 这段经历成为了一个关键时刻 她的职业生涯. “Growing up, you never think about the kid next door or the kid you go 饿着肚子去上学，”塞利尔说. “这对我来说是一个转折点 正在我们的社区中进行.”

那年年底，塞利尔进入了南方律师事务所 公共管理硕士 在公共服务领域进一步发展的计划. 尽管她承认这很困难 at 次 to juggle working full-time 和 attending classes at night, 塞利纳 believes 她从这个过程中受益. 

“It was very helpful to be working 和 going through the program simultaneously,” 塞利纳说. “我学到的很多技能都可以直接应用到工作中. 我是 able to bring up questions from my job in class for real-time solutions.”

One professor in particular made a significant impression on 塞利纳. 一开始 在她上课的那天，塞利尔很害怕. 杰奎琳·邦奇，哈佛大学助理教授 政治科学. “正因为如此，我没有忘记她教我的任何东西，”她笑着说 塞利纳. Bunch went on to sponsor the Public Administration Club, a student organization 塞利纳创立. 他们的关系最终变成了师徒关系， 和 Bunch continues to communicate regularly with 塞利纳 to follow 她的职业生涯 progression. 

“Eugenie made a tremendous impact on the classroom experience,” said Bunch. “她是 a consummate professional, an enthusiastic scholar 和 an impactful leader. 我们的节目 很荣幸能把她算作我们的校友.”

After receiving her MPA in December 2016, 塞利纳 was promoted to Alabama child nutrition 墨西哥湾沿岸食品供应公司的经理.  两年后，她成为了《十大彩票平台官网》的导演 nutrition programs, overseeing the operation 和 administration of four child hunger relief programs serving more 超过2万名儿童 at 250 feeding locations 在 墨西哥湾沿岸地区.

塞利纳 credits the education she received at 南 for learning the skills necessary to thrive in her current position, specifically what she learned in her MPA program. “From human resources, to budgeting, to interpreting data, what I learned 在 program 让我在职业生涯中更快地前进，”塞利尔说. 

She doesn’t try to predict where 她的职业生涯 will ultimately lead, but 塞利纳 knows 她终于走上了正确的轨道. “我从没想过我会有今天的成就 五年前，”塞利尔说. “我喜欢指导年轻的员工，我愿意 继续管理和领导公共服务项目.”

Wherever 她的职业生涯 path leads, it’s a good bet that 塞利纳 will continue to make 改变别人的生活.

---