Michael Stinziano, '02

*One of a collection of stories written by alumni for the Jepson School's 20th Anniversary

Who would ever guess that the incredible experience I enjoyed fulfilling my Jepson Internship requirement would lead me to a rewarding career in public service?

Lucky me! During my internship working with the British Parliament, the Labour Party called for national elections. I spent the summer learning about grassroots campaigning by knocking on doors for member of Parliament candidate Barry Gardner and then researching issues for MP Rosie Winterton, who now serves as Labour chief whip, and even seeing Queen Elizabeth open the new session of Parliament.

My constituents benefit every day from the many lessons I learned earning my degree in leadership studies at Jepson, and I can honestly say that I practice many of those lessons, like servant leadership, at the Ohio Statehouse.

Following graduation, I put the broad overview I learned at Jepson for critically approaching people, groups and organizations to work and went on to earn a master’s degree in public administration from The George Washington University and a law degree at The Ohio State University. Along the way, I also worked for the Woodrow Wilson International Center, a think tank for national and international issues in Washington, D.C., and as a legal extern for the Supreme Court of Ohio, as a law clerk for the Ohio House Democratic Caucus and as assistant to the General Counsel for Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

The Jepson School really prepared me to step into a leader role. After serving as director of the Franklin County Board of Elections, I was first elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 2010, and recently re-elected to a second term. I am especially proud of two bills that I sponsored this session that are now part of Ohio law, one that expanded voting access to Ohioans serving in the military and the other protecting young Ohio athletes after suffering concussions in youth sports.

Jepson taught me the importance of being able to give back to the community where I grew up. I continue to work hard to champion legislation to foster small business growth to create, retain and sustain good paying jobs throughout Ohio.

Many thanks to my classmates, especially to my wife Caroline McNamee Stinziano, who, like me, value the lessons we learned during our days at Richmond.

I am passionate about living the lessons we learned at the Jepson School to work closely with people and help significantly improve their lives. Working together, we will overcome the obstacles that face us today to build a better, brighter, future for us all.

--Michael Stinziano