Darby Burgett ’26 Awarded Public Policy and International Affairs Fellowship Burgett will attend the PPIA Junior Summer Institute at Princeton University this summer.
Darby Burgett ’26 will attend the Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute at Princeton University during the summer of 2025. Burgett, a native of Waxhaw, North Carolina, is an environmental studies major with a double minor in law, justice and society and poverty and human capability studies.
The PPIA fellowship program helps students achieve a master’s or joint degree, typically in public policy, public administration, international affairs or a related field.
“Being awarded this opportunity is a huge recognition of my academic and professional experiences and accomplishments,” Burgett said. “I have felt unsure that I was adequately preparing myself for post-graduation and my career, but this fellowship makes graduate school seem all the more possible, particularly financially.”
At Princeton, Burgett will take courses in statistics, economics, policy writing and analysis, culminating in a report on a current domestic or international policy issue that draws on the skills acquired during her coursework. She views the program as a significant step forward in her path to graduate school, and she is looking forward to developing skills that will help her pursue a public service career in environmental policy and law.
On campus, Burgett serves as the vice president of partnership and outreach for the Student Environmental Action League, co-chair for the Library Student Advisory Board and co-president of DivestW&L. She also works as a student coordinator of library outreach at Leyburn Library. Burgett is currently interning with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs in the Office of Environmental Quality.
Burgett is grateful for the support she has received from Emily Cook, assistant professor and research and instruction library for the humanities, and Kim Hodge, assistant dean of students, and credits Howard Pickett, associate professor of ethics and poverty studies and director of the Shepherd Program at W&L, with believing in the capability of his students to achieve great things and encouraging her academic and professional pursuits.
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