4th year Bachelor of Public Administration (BPA) Spec. Honours (Policy Analysis)

I left high school feeling the same way many students feel, lost, and with very little sense of what to do next in their lives. I knew I wanted to further my education and I had a general enjoyment for the social sciences and humanities, but coming from a family of immigrants who had never gone into post-secondary education, I was always pushed to go to university and study a field that would “get me a good job”. Not knowing what to do next, I began exploring my options. I took a fifth year of high school, after that went to college and took a year of international development studies, but I didn’t feel challenged enough. Then I came to York University, and went into political science. It was only after my second year in political science that I heard about the Bachelor of Public Administration program, and it was only then that I found a program that I was certain I wanted to be a part of. In my experience, the School of Public Policy and Administration has provided a program that tailors to all kinds of students, whether you have an interest in politics, economics, management, accounting, Canadian history, law, or policy. The Bachelor of Public Administration program provides students with a diverse set of knowledge that would appeal to any student, as it provides opportunities not only in the public sector, but the private and non-for-profit sectors as well. The diverse set of courses required by the program appealed to me as it gave me an opportunity to learn about a broad set of subjects while at the same time bringing all that knowledge together in a practical way.

The reason I am sharing my story with you is to reassure anyone who is coming out of high school, or a program that they’re uncertain about, that things will get better – you will find your path in life, and one day will find something that will drive you every day to be better than you were the day before. In my case, the School of Public Policy and Administration has helped me in this journey because it has exposed me to so many fields of thought and in doing so broadened my horizons significantly. The small size of the program has worked to my benefit as well, as it allows any student to stand out whereas in other programs it is not the case. I have met some wonderful people and learned a lot from the professors and staff working in the School of Public Policy and Administration, and because of that I would recommend it to anyone. – Brian Raposo