ALUMNI AROUND THE GLOBE

Saltanat received her Bachelor of Social Science in Public Administration from KIMEP University in Kazakhstan. She worked as an assistant to the Head of the Committee on Social and Cultural Development, in the Mazhilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, and as Executive Secretary of Advisory Councils (Social Council, Council on Economic Policy, and Council on Regional Policy) and consultant to the organizational and legal departments. Saltanat loved the course PPD 555: Public Policy Formulation and Implementation, and it helped her narrowing down my area of interest. The course PPD 569: Applied International Public Policy and Management Project helped her to conduct further research on improving the national policy framework on gender in media. Professors Gayla Kraetsch Hartsough and Rym Kaki impacted Saltanat the most during her time at IPPAM because both of them really helped her improve her research and writing skills, and taught her how to create good policies for the benefit of the people.

Working with the classmates with their international backgrounds and experiences, sharing ideas with them, and working together on projects gave Saltanat different perspectives on how to work collaboratively to make the world a better place. Her favorite aspect of IPPAM is that it is a family. It is not just a regular program, but cares about students and their futures and families. The staff members, including Joyce, Joanna, Ann, Michelle, Kelly, and George help students go through their two years with support and encouragement. Students should choose the IPPAM program to discover their core values for their professional career and their personal life.

Saule received her Bachelor of Science in Jurisprudence and her Bachelor of Science in Information Systems before the IPPAM program, and worked as a state employee for the Treasury System in Kazakhstan and Chief Specialist at the Law Department of the Department of Treasury in Almaty City. The IPPAM courses she took helped her in organizing her job duties. Courses such as Civic Engagement in Governance, Public Policy Formulation and Implementation, and Policy and Program Evaluation gave her the knowledge to analyze and understand social issues and find the right solutions to solve problems. Saule is using the people engagement methods she learned at IPPAM in her current position to collaborate with her colleagues in performing tasks at our department. She is using the before and after evaluation techniques to analyze the results of her job performance. Furthermore, at the Law Department, Saule is using the SMART method in setting goals and planning our functions to provide the best legal services to corporate clients of the Treasury Department. IPPAM is a great program designed to provide not only the best educational opportunities for students but to grant professional direction as well, so that they can receive practical experience during their studies.

"I loved the IPPAM program because I had the opportunity to learn theoretical knowledge as well as gain practical experience in the public policy field. I participated in case challenges tackling social issues and attended guest lectures, and attended international conferences to meet professionals in public policy as well. I also love the IPPAM program because of the faculty and staff, as the IPPAM directors and professors are caring and really take care of their students.”

Bagdagul Zhaparalina is from Astana in Kazakhstan and works as a Deputy Director at the Department of Personnel at the Ministry of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan since October 2019. Bagdagul is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in International Relations at the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Bagdagul said that her experience with the IPPAM was amazing and filled with warm feelings. The students were treated with great respect. Staff, starting with Professor Mann, Professor Yu and Ann, do their best to make students feel as comfortable as possible. “I surely can say, that IPPAM helped my growth not only professionally, but also personally.”, said Bagdagul.

First of all, Bagdagul learned from the best faculty members. She is grateful for having Professors Gayla Kraetsch Hartsough, Rym Kaki, James E. Moore, Frank V. Zerunyan, Michael Lin and others, who shared their knowledge generously.

Secondly, she took all opportunities to her professional growth and actively participated in events, that were provided by IPPAM and USC. She was able to visit Office of Treasury in Los Angeles (at that time she was working at the Department of Treasury in her region) for job shadowing in 2015. She visited professional conferences, such as ASPA (American Society of Public Administration) Conference in Chicago and Seattle, where she met analysts from Kazakhstan and other countries who presented their work on solving some issues to develop Kazakhstan and other countries. She was also able to volunteer at the National After School Summit in 2015. She met many politicians there, who were glad to share their experience and give advice. She also participated in internal conferences and worked in some projects in public administration at USC and participated in activities held at the university, such as music, art, sport, volunteering, filmmaking events, professional events in public administration and others.

Thirdly, Bagdagul had classmates from around the world (the USA, China, Japan, Korea, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Indonesia, etc..), who have a wide variety of backgrounds and fields of study. IPPAM organized cultural events to teach students about the cultures of different countries and make the student closer to each other. Because of that Bagdagul made many good international friends.

Lastly, but not least Bagdagul completed her master’s degree at USC IPPAM as the first student from Kazakhstan.

After receiving her master’s degree, she switched to another job at the Ministry of Information and Social Development, it was her first managerial position. She implemented some methods and approaches that she researched in her master's project about employee performance assessment. At the Ministry, her work was the first introduced innovations in employee performance assessment. She was able to present the work to other employers in public affairs.

Bagdagul is so thankful to have all these great opportunities provided by USC IPPAM and its staff.

Eldar Dyussetayev is the Mayor of the Karakaraly district in the Karaganda region in Kazakhstan. He started his career as a history teacher. He then decided to take on an opportunity in the local government sector in Karaganda's social support and internal policy department. He worked at various positions in city and regional, and central government levels for about thirteen years. In 2016, his wife encouraged him to pursue a master's degree in the U.S. Eldar had received a presidential scholarship program, «Bolashak», for his overseas study. Eldar remembers the first time he met with Joyce and Joanna in the IPPAM office; he felt so comfortable as if he was home thousands of miles away. The comfort he felt gave him the confidence to believe that as an international student, he can do it, he can and will graduate from one of the leading public administration schools, not only in the U.S. but the whole world. There were extraordinary classmates from all over the world (Indonesia, China, Japan, South Korea, Middle East, Turkey, and Latin America), and the incredible and very experienced professors have given me a lifetime experience.

Today, after two years working in the field as a practitioner who deals with different problems and programs, I understand that we were lucky to have such distinguished professors in our school, with the experience and knowledge we gained from them, such as the problem formulation Professor Kaki carefully taught us about; the stakeholder analysis Professor Zerunyan always pointed out with his own mayoral experience; and Professor Gayla’s and her team’s practical advice on how to work with different clients, these were vital and valuable for me to serve better and be more effectively to the residents in my district."

Gulmira graduated in May 2021 with the IPPAM 22 cohort. She received her Bachelor of History in International Relations at Al Farabi, Kazakh National University. She currently serves as Press Secretary and Head of Department of Social Media for the Deputy of the Prime Minister of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

At just 16 years old, Gulmira began her journey in journalism and television. Throughout her early career, she served as a journalist, Director of the Department of Morning Programs, and Head of the Department of Documentary Films on History for Kazakhstan State Television and Radio. She has earned various awards and accolades for this work. Having received several offers from top universities in the United States, Gulmira set her sights on USC. Inspired by the media-driven atmosphere of Los Angeles and endless opportunities at USC Price, Gulmira knew IPPAM was the next step to further her career as a leader. “When I started at IPPAM, I knew I had goals to become a political leader. I wanted to take the necessary steps to be helpful to my society and create new reforms.”

In Kazakhstan, Gulmira is responsible for conveying informational support and delivering it to the media on behalf of the president. Driven by helping those in her community, she intends on contributing to Kazakhstan’s transition towards more democratic governmental reforms. Gulmira credits the lessons she learned in her statistics and public policy courses at USC for advancing the analytical skills she utilizes at work everyday. She recalls IPPAM as “...not just a set of faculty. It's a family. Joyce, Joanna, Ann, and Jimmy – they created a family atmosphere.” Upon graduating the program, Gulmira formed friendships with peers from ten different countries – she keeps in touch with many classmates, hoping to reunite with them again. For prospective students, she recommends the following: “Be true to yourself, what you’re telling, and be confident.”

Prior to enrolling in IPPAM, Nurlan Adaliyev received his Bachelor’s degree in Jurisprudence from Kazakh-Russian University in 2012. He first began his career in the police force — more specifically as an inspector of immigration police — resulting in a new wealth of knowledge regarding immigration issues. He later transferred to the drug enforcement unit and attended the Police Academy in Karaganda, gaining a Master’s degree in Law Enforcement and the role of Chief Deputy of Police. He was then invited to work in the International Relations division at the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Astana). There, he became involved in the process of negotiation with other countries and organizations. This position permitted him to gain a more global experience. In 2015, Nurlan was nominated and awarded Kazakhstan’s Presidential Scholarship, Bolashak, to further his education. After contemplating his options (Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, and Duke) and discussing with colleagues who had studied abroad, Nurlan landed on the perfect choice: USC IPPAM. "IPPAM was my choice because there is strong focus on global issues across many countries, and the program equips participants with needed skills such as critical thinking, strategic thinking, planning, evaluation, and policy analysis.” With peers from over 13 countries, the intercultural communication at IPPAM was forceful, making it a defining choice. Nurlan currently serves as the Head of Human Resources at the Financial Monitoring Agency on the federal level. His responsibilities include strategic planning for continued agency development, recruitment, training, and evaluation of personnel. As of now, he is focusing on reengineering the business processes and digitalizing the agency. Nurlan also serves as an Associate Professor part-time at the National School of Public Policy, where he shares his knowledge and experience. For prospective IPPAM students, Nurlan recommends dreaming big and retaining your unique personality for the best experience.