Our students don’t have to wait for graduation to start building their careers, as many pursue jobs, internships, and opportunities for first-hand experience while still in school. Second-year student Nicholas Walters is no exception, and this fall he’s adding a competitive fellowship program to his resume.
The Don Lavoie Fellowship at George Mason’s Mercatus Center is a semester-long program that introduces students across the country and the world to ideas in political economy, emphasizing how institutions, knowledge, and incentives influence policy outcomes. The Fellowship includes a series of online discussions and collaborative seminars, a stipend of $1,250, and support from a network of Mercatus students, alumni, faculty, and scholars who are conducting and engaging with cutting-edge research in contemporary political economy.
“I was drawn to the program because of its focus on understanding how institutional decision-making, rules, norms, and local knowledge shape governance and policy,” Walters said. “The questions discussed relate directly to my interests in environmental and energy policy, especially in managing shared resources. The fellowship seemed like an ideal way to strengthen that theoretical foundation while applying it to real-world public issues.”
Walters is pursuing his Master of Public and International Affairs (MPIA) with a concentration in human security and a minor in energy and environment. He is also engaged as a student researcher at SPIA’s Center for Governance and Markets (CGM), where his work has focused on AI policy and Rust Belt communities of Pittsburgh.
“The program fits naturally with my work at the Center for Governance and Markets and my MPIA coursework,” he said. “It complements both efforts by giving me a broader theoretical foundation in political economy — particularly how institutions evolve, why certain policies persist even when they underperform, and how to design governance systems that empower communities while maintaining efficiency. I hope to bring that perspective back to my research groups and future work — ideally with local or state agencies focusing on energy policy.”
Learn more about our updated 36-credit MPIA program, designed to allow students to complete their degree in just three semesters. For more information about the Center for Governance and Markets, visit their website here.