Student Spotlight: Nikki Mills

Introduce Yourself

I am Nikki Mills. I'm originally from Marion, Ohio. I live in Columbus, Ohio now. I did undergraduate work at Ohio Wesleyan University, my background is in education. 

Where do you work and what do you do?

I work at Vineyard Community Center in Westerville, Ohio, I’m the operations manager.

Why did you choose the Voinovich School and the Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) program?

I have a call, I think, and a passion for nonprofit work, and mercy and justice work in the community, and this program fit a lot of those needs. I chose Ohio University specifically for really two reasons: One, the hybrid format is very valuable to me, I think that it's really helpful to be in the classroom, to interact with each other and our professors, and really deepen the understanding of our content. And also, I appreciate the design and intentionality for working professionals, it's designed for somebody working full time and I'm grateful for that.

What research have you conducted and what did you learn?

I recently read research on employee motivation in the public versus private sectors. It was incredibly eye-opening for me because what I think motivates somebody and what research and experience actually says motivates somebody were a little bit different, and I just think it's critically important to think about that when you're serving and leading those around you.

How have you applied your coursework to your job?

I have applied a lot of it already. We had a program evaluation class, which was really helpful because we have 13 different teams doing work in the city, so it's helpful to think about, “How can we be evaluating what we do and be focused on continuous improvement?” So that's one thing that I applied initially.

What is the best leadership advice you have received? 

I think some of the best leadership advice that I've received is to think about legacy, that our work should not live because of us, it should live beyond us, so we need to be intentional to develop people around us and to implement systems and refine them so that our work will in fact live beyond us and not simply because we’re there.

What piece of advice would you share with someone entering the EMPA program?

I would say to come in with an open mind. Be ready to have your thinking affirmed, to have it stretched and challenged. But if you're open and you really take in what you're learning you will leave a better leader than when you came into the program.

Why was the Voinovich School the right choice for you?

Voinovich School was the right school for me because it fit the schedule that I needed and it’s covering the content that I'm interested in. And again, that hybrid format, being able to spend time in person with people was a really valuable piece that I was looking for in a program.