Jenny Hesseltine

Email:jenny.hesseltine@gmail.com

Jenny, Class President of the Class of 2009, is the first Mark E. Keane Scholar at the University of Kansas and is the Richard Chesney Scholar. A native of Fairfield, Iowa, Jenny is a magna cum laude graduate of Central College in Pella, Iowa, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and minored in Writing. She was an active member of the Student Senate and served on various academic and social committees. Jenny is also a member of the Central College chapters of nationally-recognized Scholastic and Political Science Honor Societies. During her senior year, she completed an honors project that involved original research to determine the effects of individual border crossing experiences on the political attitudes of Mexican-Americans.

Jenny currently works as an Administrative Intern for Douglas County, Kansas where she has worked on a purchasing proposal for the Parks Department, goal and performance measurement creation, tax research, and final budget compilation. Jenny is currently researching green initiatives for local governments, and will be completing projects for the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area as well as working with specific departments to promote online county services.

Prior to beginning the MPA program, Jenny gained practical experience in a position with the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Office of Chief Counsel, Civil Rights Section. Her passion for public service in general drives her more specific goal of local government management. She hopes to help build and sustain communities in which employees are proud to work and citizens are proud to live.