Congratulations to Shayla Lee for being selected as Public Administration and Policy’s MPA Student of the Month!
Shayla is from Greenville, NC. Even as a teenager she exemplified a passion for advocacy and public service. She led a protest against police brutality alongside her friends shortly after graduating high school in 2016. After high school, Shayla became a first-generation college graduate by completing her bachelor’s degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). While at UNCG, Shayla proved to be driven both inside and outside of the classroom. She served as a mentor for young girls at a local middle school, a leader in various student organizations, and managed to work part-time the entire time. Shayla completed her undergraduate degree in three years and graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. At graduation, Shayla was awarded the Outstanding Senior Award within her department as well as a Student Excellence Award, the highest honor at UNCG, nominated and selected by faculty.
Today, Shayla is pursuing her Master of Public Administration degree with specializations in both local government and nonprofit administration here at the University of Georgia (UGA). Shayla is currently the President of the Graduate Student Association, which represents the entire graduate and professional student body at UGA. Shayla is also the Vice President of the newly founded Young Nonprofit Professionals Network at UGA. She also serves as the Events Chair of the student chapter of the International City/County Management Association.
Outside of UGA, Shayla is currently serving in two internships. She serves as an Inclusion Fellow with Athens-Clarke County Unified Government where she is gaining valuable insight in the necessary steps to create and facilitate diversity, equity, and inclusion. Shayla is also a Community Impact intern at the United Way of Northeast Georgia where she is helping to manage the database for both the 211 resource system and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. This experience is further showing Shayla the important roles that nonprofits play in communities. Shayla hopes to use her degrees and experiences to not only serve those in need and her future constituents, but to also create more representation for Black people in leading roles in the public sector.
Congratulations Shayla! Keep up the amazing work. You are making a difference.
