Two Norfolk State University students have been selected as 2019 Governor’s Fellows. Bobbie Marie Johnson, a 2019 mass communications graduate, and Elizabeth Karina Paz, an interdisciplinary studies major, were selected for the fellowship by Gov. Ralph Northam and will join other fellows from across the Commonwealth.
Paz, who is from Sterling, Virginia, is honored to have been chosen. “I am excited to work alongside such high-ranking officials,” she wrote in a text. “I know that this program will take me out of my comfort zone to grow into a better individual, leader and follower.”
Created in 1982 by former Governor Chuck Robb, the program offers rising college seniors, graduating seniors, and graduate students an opportunity to gain valuable, firsthand experience working under Cabinet secretaries and alongside staff in the Office of the Governor.
Johnson of Lancaster, California, will attend graduate school in the fall and hopes the experience will help to enlighten and inform her graduate school studies and her career aspirations. “I plan to obtain a master’s degree in public relations,” Johnson said. “My expectations are to get a greater understanding of government in Virginia, and I expect to network with policymakers who can assist me with my growth and political knowledge.”
Each Fellow is placed in a division within the Office of the Governor for the duration of the summer. In those offices, the Fellows cultivate and sharpen leadership skills by taking on a variety of tasks and projects. They also learn from special guest speakers from the administration and take field trips across the Commonwealth.