La-Toya Aitcheson of East Hartford completes public service fellowship in municipal government offices

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Scott McLean, right, professor of political science at Quinnipiac University, recognized La-Toya Aitcheson, of East Hartford, for completing Quinnipiac's Presidential Public Service Fellowship.

HAMDEN, CT (08/19/2011)(readMedia)-- La-Toya Aitcheson of East Hartford, was among this summer's Quinnipiac University's eight Presidential Public Service Fellowship recipients who were recognized at an Aug. 10 luncheon for their hard work this summer.

Quinnipiac students La-Toya Aitcheson, Vanessa Baez, Benjamin Cloutier, Devon Jerome, Mary Nelligan, Matthew Pankey, Jamar Paris and Jeremy Stull made brief presentations describing their 10-week summer public service projects in Hamden and North Haven, what they accomplished and what they learned in their fellowships.

Hamden Mayor Scott Jackson and North Haven First Selectman Michael J. Freda and various other local government officials attended the event.

The Quinnipiac students worked in different departments – ranging from youth services and economic development to planning and zoning and the offices of the mayor and first selectman.

"The mission of the fellowship is both educational and civic," said Scott McLean, professor of political science in the College of Arts and Sciences and director of the program. "Educationally, the Presidential Public Service Fellowship seeks to educate fellows about the workings of municipal government, the history of the community and issues of economic development."

Fellows go through an extensive orientation program and bi-weekly seminar/dinners with an academic focus, he said.

"Fellows in these seminars meet informally with experts in local government and elected officials so that their first-hand experiences are broadened and placed into a wider context of statewide and national developments in municipal governance," McLean said. "In these informal settings, Fellows discuss their work experience with their peers and gain the opportunity to refine their professional goals and investigate public service as a profession."

The civic benefits to the community of Hamden and North Haven is to have fully subsidized, full-time fellows who can offer their technical skills and energy to specific programs and projects identified by town department heads, McLean said.

Quinnipiac is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours from Boston. The university enrolls 5,900 full-time undergraduate and more than 2,000 graduate students in 53 undergraduate and more than 20 graduate programs of study in its School of Business, School of Communications, School of Education, School of Health Sciences, School of Law, School of Nursing and College of Arts and Sciences. Quinnipiac consistently ranks among the top regional universities in the North in U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges issue. The 2009 issue of U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges named Quinnipiac as the top up-and-coming school with master's programs in the Northern Region. Quinnipiac also is recognized in Princeton Review's "The Best 376 Colleges." For more information, please visit http://www.quinnipiac.edu. Connect with Quinnipiac on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/quinnipiacuniversity and follow Quinnipiac on Twitter @QuinnipiacU.