Student Stories

As per Batten School tradition, students and staff members joined with community volunteers and nonprofit organizations this year for a day of service on the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Hana Bakhit (MPP '25) started a nonprofit organization for youth in her native Sudan and last year was a Mandela Washington Fellow in D.C., and though she started her semester at Batten under exceptionally challenging circumstances, she is thriving in her coursework. 

In a weekend filled with inspiration and networking, 12 students from the Batten School and the College embarked on a transformative journey to the 52nd Annual Legislative Conference hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in Washington D.C.   

For Marina Peebles (MPP ‘24), the search for a policy-based internship led her all the way to the White House. We caught up with Marina to hear more about her experience working at the highest level of the U.S. government and how her time at Batten prepared her for success.

Congratulations to the 10 UVA students who won first- and third-place in the prestigious 7th annual Bain & Co. Women’s Case Competition -- including several students who took a Batten course offering in management consulting and strategic decision making. 

Maggie Sparling spent part of her spring in Fiji, working on national security and having experts listen to her insights. Sparling, who graduated this spring with majors in history and economics, is in the public policy master’s program at Batten.

Five Batten students and alumni are finalists for this year’s highly competitive Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program. The federal government’s flagship development opportunity for advanced degree holders offers an accelerated track to U.S. government leadership positions. 

This holiday season, the Batten School community came together once again to give back and act in meaningful service. During a semester that was peppered with impactful events, both tragic and uplifting, the opportunity to thoughtfully commemorate the end of the academic period was a powerful reminder of what being a part of Batten means.

Over 250 volunteers from the Batten School went into the community to work with 25 community partners as part of the 13th Annual Batten Builds event.

The Batten School welcomed new students for post-graduate Master of Public Policy, Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Leadership, Minor in Public Policy and Leadership, and Minor in Social Entrepreneurship programs this year in an exuberant kick-off to the semester.

Cooper Cramer, a rising fourth-year and incoming student in Batten’s Accelerated Master of Public Policy program, spent 10 weeks this summer in an internship with Virginia’s Office of the Governor. Cramer served as a “transformation associate” in the Governor’s newly formed Office of Transformation, a position that he says has helped him focus more clearly on career options.

From Valedictory Exercises Friday afternoon to Batten’s signature Academic Regalia Ceremony on Saturday and Final Exercises on Sunday, this weekend marked the first return to the full custom of in-person UVA graduation since 2019.