NPML Graduate Puts Her Best Foot Forward

Some   graduate   students, after   completing their master’s   program, find employment near home. Others decide to pursue a doctorate. Emily May chose a slightly different path. Soon after graduating from the Nonprofit Management and Leadership program, she packed up her belongings, sold everything and moved to Jinja, Uganda to join a nonprofit organization. The NPML Graduate Certificate is offered both on campus and online.

The  organization,  Sole Hope, treats  those affected by a  foot parasite known as  “jiggers.” The parasite is a sand flea endemic to sub-Saharan Africa that buries itself  in human skin. While still a student, she interned with Sole Hope for five months. After returning home, they offered her the full time, paid position of international coordinator. Sole Hope’s current staff is made up of about 65 people, mostly Ugandans, who  work as social workers, nurses, caretakers and shoemakers. May oversees the daily administrative duties, ensuring that her staff have both the funds and resources they need.

May said the master’s program really helped her to narrow down what she wanted to pursue within the nonprofit sector. Because much  of the coursework and projects emphasized improving local nonprofit strategies, she was able to get a feel for nonprofit management  in the real world. In April 2018, just prior to graduating, May was named Student of the Year for the Master of Arts in Nonprofit Management and Leadership program.Tony Mallon,  director of the Institute for Nonprofit Organizations, praised May’s initiative. “Emily independently landed her international internship with Sole Hope,” he said. “Students who are successful are usually very self-directed….Emily May epitomizes that.”

The full feature on Emily May is available in the School of Social Work publication, Connect.