LBJ School GPAC President Builds Community and Connects Engineering with Policy

For Graduate Public Affairs Council (GPAC) president Ella Barwick (MPAff ’27), getting involved in the LBJ School community is about showing up, asking questions, helping others and finding ways to contribute.

Barwick’s path to LBJ began in environmental engineering where she was part of the inaugural undergraduate cohort of Environmental Engineers at UT Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering. 

Her interest in the intersection of technical expertise and public policy grew throughout her undergraduate experiences and after five years of working in the industry. Seeing firsthand how closely engineering and policy can intersect, she decided to pursue a formal education in public affairs. So, returning to UT and joining the LBJ School felt like a natural next step. 

“When researching the [LBJ School] faculty, there were so many bases covered between industry and government experience mixed with historical and scientific backgrounds. I knew I could learn a lot.” 

At LBJ, Barwick has continued the community-focused involvement that has shaped her career. Her classmates recognized that commitment when they encouraged her to run for GPAC president, even though she had not initially planned to pursue a leadership role. 

As GPAC president, Barwick is helping create opportunities for students to connect with one another and engage with policy beyond the classroom. This semester, she is particularly looking forward to the Latino Policy Research Symposium in November, which she has watched her fellow students work hard to organize. She is also helping launch a new collaboration with the Alexander Hamilton Society to host student debates. 

For Barwick, these opportunities are an important part of the LBJ experience. She encourages current and future students to take advantage of the many ways to get involved, both inside and outside of the classroom. 

“There’s so many speaker series, fellowships, workshops and networking opportunities.” 

After graduation, Barwick plans to pursue a political advisory role focused on developing response frameworks for cyber-related disasters. She is currently exploring opportunities with organizations including the Atlantic Council and MITRE, as well as local and state government roles. 

But for now, she is focused on making the most of her time at LBJ and helping her fellow students do the same.