Eight Florida State University students have been selected by Gov. Rick Scott to be part of the 13-member 2012-2013 class of Florida Gubernatorial Fellows.
The 8-year-old program gives Florida college students firsthand experience in how state government operates by placing them in part-time jobs within the Executive Office of the Governor or in gubernatorial agencies. This year’s program continues until May 10, 2013.
“I applaud these students for their outstanding academic, leadership and service-oriented accomplishments,” Scott said. “This program will provide them with on-the-job leadership training for successful careers in the public or private sector.”
Students were selected based on a competitive application process and their ability to show strong leadership, written and oral communication skills, community activism, and a desire to serve the people of Florida. They will work in the Executive Office of the Governor or in the governor’s agencies, depending on their area of study.
“The selection of fellows is highly competitive, and we are very proud of those who have been chosen to participate in the program,” said Nancy Marcus, dean of The Graduate School at FSU. “The fact that so many students from Florida State University were selected as part of this year’s class suggests that outstanding students who are interested in government choose to come here, both for the excellence of our programs and our proximity to the seat of government. The Gubernatorial Fellowship Program is a wonderful opportunity for students who want to experience firsthand the inner workings of state government.”
Fellows are expected to work a minimum of 20 hours each week and receive an hourly wage for their time on the job. To broaden their exposure to state government and enhance their experience, they also meet weekly as a group to participate in educational activities such as presentations, news conferences, budget briefings and policy briefings.
The following Florida State students were named Florida Gubernatorial Fellows:
- Keturah Brown, 21, of Jacksonville, Fla., is a graduate student in public administration. She holds a bachelor’s degree in African-American studies and political science from Florida State University. Brown is working at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, where she is involved in policy and planning for threatened and endangered species at the state and federal levels.
- Christopher Emmanuel, 24, of Tallahassee, is a second-year student in the College of Law. He holds bachelor’s degrees in history and political science from the University of Florida. Emmanuel is working at the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, focusing on implementing the governor’s Five-Year Strategic Plan for Economic Development. He also is working with several other state agencies to create a small-business Web portal that will make starting businesses easier, as well as helping the Office of Policy and Budget identify redundancy in regulations at the local level.
- Jacob Horner, 23, of Sanford, Fla., is a graduate student in public administration. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and international affairs from Florida State. Horner is working on a new Business Identity Theft Initiative for the Florida Department of State’s Division of Corporation. Specifically, he is researching trends in identity theft that will lead to the implementation of strategic measures and increased awareness to help prevent business identity theft in Florida.
- Adam Kramarow, 24, of Boca Raton, is a third-year student in the College of Law. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international affairs and political science from Florida State. Kramarow is working in the Florida Department of Financial Services, directly under the agency’s general counsel, P.K. Jameson. There, he is researching ethics questions, analyzing multimillion-dollar settlement agreements and performing statutory comparisons to help ensure that the statutes relied on by the department are modern and effective.
- Margaret Sanders, 22, of Dalton, Ga., is a graduate student in public administration. She holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Central Florida. She is working in the Florida Division of Emergency Management on a project to better contextualize and visualize data and the way it is presented in the state Emergency Operations Center. Her goal is to emerge with a complete understanding of how Florida approaches disaster management and how the state interacts with its local and federal partners.
- Carter Scott, 24, of Columbia, S.C., is a second-year student in the College of Law. He holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Dartmouth College. Scott is working in the Office of Fiscal Accountability and Regulatory Reform, located within the Governor’s Office of Policy and Budget. There, his goal is to assist in identifying unnecessary regulatory burdens and eliminating or streamlining them where possible.
- Prayut Alexander Therathanakorn, 28, of Weston, Fla., is a third-year student in the College of Law. He holds bachelor’s degrees in economics and government from the University of Texas and a master’s degree in accounting from Nova Southeastern University. Therathanakorn is working for the Florida Department of Children and Families, where he is helping to prevent and reduce Medicaid fraud through identification verification of public-assistance recipients.
- Katherine Walton, 28, of South Ponte Vedra, Fla., is a second-year student in the College of Law. She holds bachelor’s degrees in corporate communications and public affairs from Southern Methodist University. Walton is working at the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, where she is participating in a leadership rotation under Secretary Ken Lawson. Her final rotation will be in the department’s legislative affairs office, which will take place during the 2013 Florida legislative session.
For more information on the Florida Gubernatorial Fellowship Program, visit FloridaFellows.com or call the Gubernatorial Fellows office at (850) 717-9224. Applications for the 2013-2014 Gubernatorial Fellows Class will be available online until March 8, 2013.