by Elizabeth Carman
Greg Ellingson ’13, former student body president and British Parliament intern, wants to help shape public policy in the Midwest.
Greg Ellingson ’13 played a key role in shaping campus policies during his time at Central. Now he wants to do the same for local and state government.
With degrees in economics and political science, Ellingson is no stranger to government policy. His passion for public policy was ignited after a semester in London interning for the British Parliament.
“I worked on a specific transportation project that opened up my world to public policy as a profession and field,” said Ellingson. “I think that was a significant project that led me to where I’m at today.”
Ellingson’s experiences with public policy didn’t stop there. During his senior year, Ellingson served as the Central College student body president, after three years participating in Student Senate. During his final year at Central, Ellingson also interned in Governor Terry Branstad’s office in the Iowa State Capitol, gaining experience to work in public policy at the state level.
Most recently, Ellingson completed an internship at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago this past summer. He worked with the consumer compliance examination teams in the banking examination division. This team ensures that the community banks in the Seventh Federal Reserve District, which includes all of Iowa and most of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, are complying with consumer compliance regulations. “My project was working with a lot of the community bank data they have in order to look for different products and features that the banks in the district might be utilizing,” said Ellingson.
Currently, Ellingson continues to strive for success and gain experience in graduate school. Now at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, Ellingson plans to graduate with a master’s degree in public policy in June 2015.
Despite an accelerated schedule with difficult courses in graduate school, Ellingson said his time at Central gave him the tools to succeed at a higher level. “I felt really prepared based on the statistics and economics I had already done at Central,” he said.
After graduate school, Ellingson hopes to live and work in the environment where he has honed his skills — the Midwest. He’s open to whatever might be out there, but he wants to work in an economic or urban policy-making role at the state and local levels. From shaping public policy on health care to public assistance programs, Ellingson hopes to make a difference wherever his undergraduate and graduate experiences lead him.
“I find it really interesting because I think there are a lot of policy issues going on around us that we don’t notice, yet they can impact a lot of different people,” said Ellingson. “If you’re good at your job in this kind of setting, you’re ultimately helping a lot of people.”