Comment on FR Doc # 2011-19623

As a recent graduate from Northwestern University, a great educational experience that has prepared me to take on a variety of responsibilities and rise to the challenge set for me, I have been very frustrated with the limited opportunities available to me to get my feet wet in possible avenues that may become my future career. I hope some day to do ethnographic research to help inform policy and program decisions in the urban setting, such as investigating how residents organize the space of a community garden and how that organization and use of public space can be optimized to best build the community. My ideal positions for these next few years before I return to graduate school to get my PhD in Anthropology would be working for a city or the federal government in their parks, environment, or planning divisions. I feel this opportunity would give me an insight into the complexities of urban public space and the perspective of government agencies in the negotiation of the use of such space, critical insights that would help me best serve the communities and locations I will work with later in my career. I tell you my story because the entry-level positions in these types of agencies are almost nonexistent, and this is just me. I know of many other graduates of Northwestern who are in a similar position, and I am certain that number increases exponentially when you look at the entire U.S. If these recent graduates are not given the chance to get a taste of the public sector, they may never go on to serve the public sector. I would hope that the brightest and most passionate citizens are serving the public good in our country, and I firmly believe that these revisions to the Pathways Programs would ensure that that continues to be the case in our federal and local governments. Thank you for revising and for requesting comments on this important decision.