Six Austin Community College District (ACC) Honors Program students joined the prestigious 2025 Public Policy and International Affairs Program (PPIA) Public Service Weekend. The program is open exclusively to Honors Program students. Meggie H., Tianna A., Raghad A., Aimee B., Jonny B., and Paulina M. are the only community college students who attended.
The students attended the three-day conference from Friday, July 18, through Sunday, July 20, at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. The conference aims to empower students from historically underrepresented backgrounds to consider graduate degrees and careers in public service.
Recent ACC graduate Aimee shared more about her experience and journey at the conference.
Hi Riverbats! My name is Aimee Bozoudes-Szymkowiak, and I just finished up with my associate degree in Psychology at ACC. I first heard about the UT LBJ School of Public Affairs through a Policy Immersion Day held there back in November of 2024, in which a group of ACC Honors Program students were invited to participate in a day full of workshops and even a simulation of national policy. While it was a bit intimidating at first, I knew I wanted to leave with a newfound confidence and understanding of something I wasn’t confident in, and that is exactly what happened both back in November and in July of 2025 after the LBJ School of Public Affairs hosted a Public Service Leadership Weekend.
During the event, myself and five other ACC Honors students met with other college students from across the country and participated in different workshops surrounding the many facets of public policy, including data collection, how to write a bill proposal, education, the psychological approach (loved that one), and so much more. We were separated into teams, assigned a policy, and given the task of writing up our own bill proposals and presenting them in front of esteemed professors and those who are masters in their field. It was rigorous, fast-paced, and many late nights were involved, but during those late nights, we also made friends, shared stories, connections, and found more in common with one another than we did in opposing.
We sat in on workshops taught by UT professors, alumni of LBJ, the dean of LBJ himself, and people who made an impact in their communities. While my favorite was the Mental Health workshop we participated in, there was also a panel in which opposing sides of our political climate came together and discussed how they find middle ground and mutual respect, which I feel is something we need at a local, state, and national level–even down to the conversations we have online and in person with our friends and family to better rebuild the bridge we’ve knocked down throughout the years.
In my application, I wrote about how important it was to me that public education and the safety and quality of the classroom are defended within lower and middle-income communities and, when I found out I was accepted, I was so excited because UT, like many others, for me is an end goal—spring semester, I’m looking at you—and I knew taking this step and putting myself out there was right. However, I was also incredibly nervous because, while I’ve always wanted to help my community, I knew very little about public policy, and I knew this was going to be a challenge. Imposter syndrome certainly set in very quickly, but I wanted to make my ACC community proud.
As an adult student, I began ACC back in 2018, and my journey has been far from traditional. I had to work full time to try to pay my bills, take as many classes as I could (even though I certainly failed one or two), tackle COVID, my father’s cancer diagnosis, and try to navigate my career and what I wanted for myself in the future. I knew one thing for sure and two things for certain, though: It would be hard but not impossible, and I wanted ACC to be a part of my journey as the first person in my family to attend college. It’s only been within the past few years that I’ve been able to dedicate more of myself to my education, and I joined the Honors Program at ACC. There, I met so many incredible professors, students, advisors, and built a community– not just a network–of hardworking, like-minded individuals (and now friends) who wanted to push limits. It was also through the Honors Program that we were invited to apply to the LBJ Public Service Leadership Weekend, and we got to experience a room full of individuals who wanted to help their communities, local governments, and their country thrive in many different ways and build up our professional networks.
I encourage anyone passionate about their education, political science major or not, to apply for this program simply for the amazing connections you’ll build, the knowledge and wisdom you’ll receive, and the experience of an educational lifetime. What I learned most from this weekend is to explore topics you aren’t familiar with, have some uncomfortable conversations, and you’ll find yourself on the better side of things when all is said and done. You’ve got this, Riverbats!
For more information and the join the honors program, visit austincc.edu/honors.