In This Story
After working in the corporate world for six years post college, Xhulia Rapo decided it was time to apply to graduate school.
“I was working but I didn’t have that passion,” she said. “In the back of my mind, I always knew I wanted to do something in the public service field. That voice in my head was getting louder and louder.”
Rapo applied to every school in the Washington, D.C., area and attended open houses to get a sense of each institution’s culture. In the end, the Schar School of Policy and Government Master of Public Policy program at George Mason University felt right.
“It was literally a no-brainer,” she said about choosing the Schar School. “I got a real sense of community, so that’s why I decided to go George Mason.”
As a full-time student, Rapo got to know her peers well. In fact, last summer, a group of them took a trip to West Virginia.
“We got a cabin, we went whitewater rafting, we went hiking,” she said. “I am very close with all of my classmates.”
She also fostered relationships with her professors, who she says truly care about students. During office hours, they would often chat over a cup of coffee or tea about her future plans and how she could get there.
“That’s what separates the Schar School from every other school out there,” she said. “Faculty members are extremely knowledgeable, but above all they are just kind. I’ll always be appreciative of that.”
One of her professors, Justin Gest, sent Rapo to a conference on civil discourse at the University of Delaware. She returned inspired and organized a similar event, Pluralist Lab Workshop, at the Schar School in April. The topic was Kindergarten to 12 education, school choice, and school safety.
“We brought together students from different political backgrounds and just had them at the same table just talking with people they normally wouldn’t,” she said.
The half-day event received positive feedback from attendees.
“Public policy is like the art of the possible,” Rapo said. “You have to know how to talk to people across the aisle. I never felt at George Mason that everybody thought the same. I was always exposed to people who had different views, different perspectives on issues.”
Additionally, she began an internship with the Gender and Policy Center (GAP) last October, working with founder and director Bonnie Stabile.
“I’ve absolutely enjoyed it,” Rapo said of her internship experience. “I love Bonnie and the work she’s doing at the GAP Center. Watching her work so tirelessly has really been inspiring.”
Aside from operations and fundraising, she has helped organize numerous events, including New Leadership Virginia, a nonpartisan, six-day residential program for young, undergraduate women, being held June 9-14.
“I cannot wait to see it come to fruition,” Rapo said.
After graduating in May, she hopes to pursue work that has to do with economic mobility of individuals, but also could see herself promoting civil dialogue.
“Now that I’m doing my job search, whenever I do my interviews I feel very confident with my whole package,” Rapo said. “I am grateful to the Schar School. I’m entering the public policy world and will work my way up the ladder from there.”