This month, The Patman Center is pleased to highlight one of our students, Miles Andres. Miles is a first year dual degree student at LBJ and McCombs, working towards Master’s Degrees in Public Affairs and Business Administration. This semester, he’s taking "The Politics and Issues of the Election Cycle" class with Professor of Practice, Evan Smith, and "Skills for Civic Leadership" with Assistant Professor of Practice, Emily Bhandari, both Patman Center affiliated courses. Miles says choosing to take both classes was an easy decision.
“Something that I have found really important is learning from people from both political parties and making sure you can have constructive conversations with everybody that you meet with,” Miles said. “After talking to people that knew what the class was about, I felt that they would give me an opportunity to grow myself as a communicator and also better myself and understand different points of view."
The semester isn’t over yet, but students in both the "Politics and Issues of the Election Cycle" and "Skills for Civic Leadership" have been privy to a series of interesting and engaging speakers from both sides of the political aisle.
“State Senator Sarah Eckhardt came and spoke and she talked about the stony road, about how everyone’s coming down a different path to get to where they are,” Miles said. “She has a really interesting philosophy of understanding all sides of the political spectrum.” Miles said that her talk helped benefit him as a communicator, a voter, and as an engaged citizen.
Other noted guests included political strategists Tyler Norris (R) and Jason Stanford (D) and KUT General Manager Debbie Hiott and Texas Tribune Editor-in-Chief Sewell Chan.
“The media plays such a heavy role in today’s political world. So hearing from Sewell, who’s been everywhere, and hearing from Debbie, who’s seen everything, and Evan, who’s up there as well…that was a fun one,” Miles said.
After graduating from LBJ, Miles wants to work in sustainable infrastructure and the economic space. Both classes have helped him understand how to build connections and relationships across the aisle, which is important in an economic development space where relationships with local government and elected officials are integral.
Fall 2024 registration is around the corner, and The Patman Center will be once again offering two classes. Skills for Winning Campaigns and Elections will be taught by Professor Emily Bhandari, and will have a mix of presentations, discussions and learning directly from political professionals and civic leaders. Evan Smith will teach The Politics and Issues of the Moment, a class focusing on the upcoming election cycle and featuring candidates as speakers.
Miles says if one does decide to take classes at The Patman Center, his advice is to hang up and hang out.
“When the speaker is there, close your laptop, turn your phone off, and listen. Because no matter who it is, whether or not you agree with them, whether or not you even know who they are, they all come from different backgrounds and have different stories. It’s really important to just listen and learn,” Miles said.
By being in both classes, Miles has experienced different bipartisan perspectives and learned from some of the most experienced in the business.
“I couldn’t recommend both of (these classes) more. I think what The Patman Center has done for these two classes, in bringing candidates to LBJ…is extremely important,” Miles said. “I think with these two (classes), you’re given an opportunity outside the normal realm of a class to learn from active political professionals every single class period.”