Poulumi Tambwekar, MPA 2006

Budget Examiner, State of New York Authority Budget Office

Prior to entering the UConn MPA program Poulumi Tambwekar had interests in finance and corporate communication. As Poulumi (MPA, 2006) explained, “I realized that working towards a masters degree in public administration would allow me to find my niche and blend my interests.”

As an international student from Bombay, India, Poulumi’s experience was different than most other graduate students. As Poulumi explained, “being an international student, it was certainly challenging at first to get used to the requirements of the United States academic system where every project you hand in for a course counts towards your final grade. Back home, academics were based on the British system where you had one final exam at the end of the year which is pretty much one hundred percent of the grade. It was difficult to make that kind of a transformation at first.”  Poulumi saw tangible gains from this challenge. “The MPA has helped me tremendously with my professional communication and to effectively present ideas and concepts through concise and clear memos and reports. I wouldn’t have admitted to this when I was in school, but ALL those hours spent drafting memos for Professor Bill Simonsen and Professor Bob Bifulco’s classes are now paying off big time!” 

Today Poulumi works for the State of New York Authority Budget Office (ABO). She obtained this position through a Public Management Internship with the State.  As Poulumi explained, “the purpose of the ABO is to study; review and report on the operations, practices, and finances of the State and local public authorities in the State of New York, promote adoption of effective principles of model governance; and provide the Governor and the Legislature with conclusions and opinions regarding the performance of those public authorities.”
           
Since joining the ABO as a Budget Examiner in August 2006, Poulumi has worked on policy guidance, recommended model governance practice documents, completed a compliance review of a local public authority, and contributed significantly to the ABO’s Compliance Review manual. Currently, she is assisting on a collaborative effort with another state agency to develop a comprehensive electronic reporting system for public authorities and is preparing to undertake another compliance review.
           
For all students, but particularly for international students, Poulumi suggests taking full advantage of internships. Poulumi said, “not only will it help you with networking and to get a real world project on your resume, it will also help you think more clearly about your concentration area and possibly help you narrow down your capstone topic--especially as the capstone is one tool you can use to market yourself to potential employers. I know my current employer was absolutely thrilled to learn that I had done significant research in the area of auditing and in general, accountability in government because that also happens to be the mission of our agency.” Poulumi interned as a Public Sector Financial Management Fellow at the Institute of Internal Auditors in Florida. Poulumi was one of eight students selected for this Fellowship from a pool of over sixty candidates.