The Morgridge Center for Public Service is overjoyed to announce Mai Nou Her has joined the center as the administrative manager.
As the administrative manager, Her will provide administrative, operational and program coordination support to the Morgridge Center. Her’s work will include fiscal planning, event coordination and management of the Transportation Options Program.
Her has been a part of the University of Wisconsin–Madison community for 12 years, first as a student and then as a professional. She has previously worked for the UW Survey Center and the Wisconsin Partnership Program, after graduating from UW–Madison in 2016.
This ability to give back to her community first inspired Her to pursue public service. Growing up in a low-income, refugee family, Her wanted to work on providing the same services that helped her family get by.
“I wanted to learn and then give back to the community to show that you can grow up from not having anything to being able to provide that service back,” says Her.
In her past jobs, Her felt she was witnessing the positive impacts of her work, but she wanted to be on the ground, making change herself. Here at the Morgridge Center, Her found her chance to directly be a part of making change.
“I was missing just the groundwork, and the impact that I could make as a person,” says Her. “And I wanted to be part of it again.”
At the Morgridge Center, Her is excited to join a group of staff passionate about their work. Many of Her’s coworkers shared success stories about student staff and where they have gone since graduation. The ability to make a positive impact in a student’s life is exactly what makes her coworkers passionate about their work, and Her is excited for the chance to work with students, be a mentor and see students excel.
“That’s exactly what I wanted to do is give back to the community and be able to make a positive difference in someone’s life,” says Her. “Even if it’s small, it’s something that makes me happy and makes me want to go to work.”