UMUC's Presidential Management Fellows Enjoy a World of Opportunity

By Alita Byrd
Special to FYI Online

Darlene Greifenberger, one of three UMUC students who won Presidential Management Fellowships last year.

“Every day around here is exciting,” said Timothy McWhorter, who is just six months into his two-year Presidential Management Fellowship. “The Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) program has opened up a world of new opportunities to me in federal government.”

McWhorter is one of three PMFs to be selected from UMUC and its partner Bowie State University last year and take up positions in a U.S. government department or agency.

Those selected to participate in the PMF program serve a two-year paid fellowship that includes 80 hours of annual training, challenging rotations, accelerated promotions, and opportunities to network between government agencies.

The competition to get into the program is stiff, with many highly qualified and experienced individuals from universities across the nation working their way through an arduous application and interview process.

The original Presidential Management Intern Program was started in 1977 and was revised into the PMF program by executive order in November 2003. Since the program’s inception, more than 3,500 qualified individuals have completed the two-year program and gone on to jobs in all Cabinet departments and more than 50 federal agencies—some to high-ranking positions as policy- and decision-makers.

McWhorter, who holds a degree in business administration and management from UMUC and a Master of Public Administration from Bowie State University, is now working in the Department of Homeland Security as a management and program analyst with the Chief Human Capital Office for Policy and Programs.

“The Department of Homeland Security is a fairly new organization with an important mission,” McWhorter said. “Its impact on our society will no doubt be historic and I would like to be a part of that.”

Darlene Greifenberger, an stateside MBA graduate from UMUC, was also selected as a Presidential Management Fellow in 2004. She accepted a job at the Department of the Navy in the office of the chief information officer.

“It is a very exciting position with great potential for advancement within the Navy or other executive branch agencies,” Greifenberger said. “The PMF program has opened doors for me that I never realized were available.”

It all started when the dean of UMUC’s Graduate School of Management and Technology wrote an e-mail to Greifenberger and several other qualified students in their final year of study, inviting them to apply for the program.

“I approached the grueling process by not looking too far into the future,” Greifenberger said. “My focus was on each step and how I could best complete it. Otherwise, it can be overwhelming.”

Greifenberger said that the most difficult part of the process was the assessment at the Office of Personnel Management. Each semifinalist was given a case study to read and then asked to make a presentation, all in 30 minutes. Greifenberger had to take a position and argue a Supreme Court case on immigration. Greifenberger was not given any feedback from the three judges after her presentation. After lunch, the six semifinalists were given five minutes to discuss the court case; they then had to come to a consensus and give a five-minute presentation to the judges. The six were critiqued based on participation and group leadership abilities. The final test of the day was a 30-minute written test.

“This is where UMUC students had a clear advantage,” Greifenberger said. “After doing the many, many writing assignments for my MBA, the paper almost wrote itself.”

Greifenberger was excited when she learned she had been selected as a finalist, but she still had to get a job offer after the Washington, D.C., job fair in April 2004. “Because there are so many smart, well-educated, and experienced people attending, it is by no means a slam dunk,” Greifenberger said.

Greifenberger secured interviews the week of the job fair with more than 10 federal departments and agencies. “I selected the Navy for several reasons,” she said. “First, the program was strong and established. They had planned events, such as ‘Meet the Fleet’ in Hawaii and Parris Island, a Capitol Hill workshop, U.S. Naval Academy football games, and many others. Second, I felt the Navy really had a place for me. They sponsored a formal reception for Presidential Management Fellows attended by several admirals. Third, I had worked for NAVAIR as a contractor and knew the Navy was a professional organization. Finally, they supported my future plans, such as pursuing a doctoral degree and other training.”

McWhorter was also very happy to learn he had been selected as a finalist in the PMF program, with an invitation to the job fair in Washington, D.C. “My first reaction was one of disbelief. It took a while for it to register that I was a finalist,” McWhorter said.

McWhorter attended the job fair and completed interviews with all of the agencies he was interested in working for. Incredibly, McWhorter was offered every position for which he applied, but decided to go with the Department of Homeland Security in the end.

McWhorter, a retired master sergeant in the U.S. Army, served as a soldier for 21 years, spending his last 11 years in Germany. He believes his military training helped him earn a coveted place as a Presidential Management Fellow, and was good preparation for his new career.

“Now as an employee of the Department of Homeland Security, not only can I take care of soldiers, but I also have a small part in the job of taking care of fellow American civilians as well,” McWhorter said.

Since he started in August 2004, McWhorter has assisted with three projects in his new position. He has helped to update the executive service computer system database, assisted in preparing a transition binder for every senior level executive entering or leaving the department after the November election, and he has assisted in organizing the first annual Department of Homeland Security awards ceremony.

McWhorter will rotate to different agencies during his stint as a PMF and learn how they manage their human resources. When the fellowship is over, he hopes to be offered a job in the Department of Homeland Security.

In Darlene Greifenberger’s first rotation, she is working under a supervisor who works directly for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

“I cannot imagine any job anywhere that would give me so much exposure to the inner workings of government,” Greifenberger said. “I am thoroughly enjoying myself while making a difference, advancing my career, and meeting terrific people.”

This year’s new crop of Presidential Management Fellows are already partway through the selection process. Nine out of the 10 students nominated by UMUC have been selected as PMF semifinalists for 2005, and are preparing for the next step of the process at the assessment centers.