School of Social Sciences and International Studies

Student fulfills her dream

The paths of Beth Pratt
Beth Pratt in South Africa
Sharon E. Pratt, or as we all know her, Beth, has served as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Center for Urban and Public Affairs for two years. Beth has taken many different paths leading to a Master of Public Administration degree.

In 1997, with her Social Work degree from Wright State University in hand and an 8-year old son in tow, Beth began her career in the non-profit sector. She worked at the Women’s Recovery Center in Xenia as the admissions coordinator, at the Family Violence Prevention Center in Xenia as the community relations coordinator, and then at the Girl Scouts of Buckeye Trails in Dayton as the fund development specialist. While she enjoyed each of these jobs, Beth had her eye to the future. Originally thinking that a stable job at Wright State would allow a chance for her son to go to college when he was ready, Beth came to the Department of Theatre, Dance and Motion Pictures in 2005 as the administrative specialist. After being promoted to account technician, she realized her passions lay elsewhere.

Once Beth interviewed with Dr. Jack Dustin and Jane Dockery of CUPA and was awarded one of only six GRA positions awarded to MPA students, she decided to jump in head first. She left her stable job, moved into a small apartment, and became a full-time graduate student. Her passion has always been in the non-profit sector, and she joined the Non-Profit Leadership Alliance Program. Never one to sit still, she served as the treasurer and the fund-raising chair of NLA. All of her previous work experience made these positions a perfect fit.

In 2013, at the request of Dr. Jennifer Subban, associate professor of urban affairs and the NLA director, Beth had the opportunity to travel to South Africa. Beth had never traveled outside of the United States, and the opportunity to see the land of her dreams intrigued her. She had always been fascinated with Africa, reading her dad’s National Geographic magazines, searching the faces and places of the exotic country. Not sure how she was going to pay for this travel, she applied for sources of funding. After being awarded the Alice Swinger First Travel grant through the University Center for International Education, her trip was funded and a new path was formed.

As the project manager for the Wright LEAD program, Beth first traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa where she hiked the Drakensberg Mountains, went horseback riding with a Zulu guide, and almost had an up-close and personal encounter with a troop of baboons. In Durban, she was thrilled to visit the exact spot where Nelson Mandela cast his first vote after being released from prison in 1994, and becoming elected president of South Africa. The celebration of Mandela’s birthday is a huge event in the country, and Beth was excited to be a part of the people’s love of “Tata Madiba.” She visited the home of Mahatma Gandhi and was able to meet his granddaughter, Ela Gandhi, when she spoke to the Wright LEAD learners. She helped build a playground for Khuthala primary school, and went on safari to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi park where she was almost able to touch animals she had only seen in magazines before – lions, elephants, giraffes and rhinoceros.

Beth was recently awarded an internship with Imagine Durban, and will complete her MPA this summer in South Africa, back in the country she fell in love with. While with Imagine Durban she will be working on the Sustainable Living Exhibition. She will again be the project manager for the Wright LEAD program with Dr. Jennifer Subban. Beth’s ultimate goal is to find a full-time position in Durban and live there as long as possible. Always willing to take the unknown path, Beth has found it can lead to adventures of a life time.

Beth would like to thank Dr. Jack Dustin and Ms. Jane Dockery for hiring her and Dr. Jennifer Subban for offering her the world.  Beth would also like to thank her family and friends for their support and encouragement over the course of her graduate studies.

durban school.jpgKhuthala students.jpgmountains of Johannesburg.jpgrhino.jpgbaboon.jpg

 


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