Stories from Our Network: Project 55 Fellow

Project 55 Fellowship alum Aria Miles ‘14

How does an engineer apply her skills to civic service?

Aria Miles ‘14 credits AlumniCorps with exposing her to the world of public service in ways she didn’t initially envision. “I wanted to use my Operations Research and Financial Engineering degree in an educational setting, but wasn’t sure how.” Though Aria “swore up and down” she was going to be a teacher, she applied for a Project 55 Fellowship because she knew several Princetonians who had enjoyed their PP55 experience. At Center City Public Charter Schools in Washington, D.C., she “got a better understanding of how the operations and administration side of a school worked.”

Having a supportive work environment is an amazing thing during your first job out of college!

Thanks to AlumniCorps’ careful recruitment of partner organizations like Center City, Aria also had a great relationship with her supervisor, Maya Martin (who is now the Executive Director of another AlumniCorps partner organization, PAVE). Aria recalls, “Having a supportive work environment is an amazing thing during your first job out of college!”

Her Fellowship experience extended far beyond the workplace

“I liked the programming Project 55 had. I was assigned a mentor, Lisa Lazarus ‘02, who facilitated a negotiations workshop for the Fellows in D.C.” Aria still remembers the impact of that workshop: “Lisa blew everyone’s mind! She taught us about salary negotiation, compensation packages, and how to figure out what you need on the job.” Aria worked at Center City for another year, and thanks to Lisa’s guidance and mentorship, she confidently negotiated her post-Fellowship compensation package.

Aria’s Project 55 placement gave her an appreciation for the role policy analysis plays in the field of education, so with the encouragement of her mentor and her supervisor— both Harvard Kennedy School alumna— she applied to Kennedy’s Masters in Public Policy program. “Lisa and Maya helped me navigate the cloud of mystery that often surrounds the difference between policy and politics. Their honest conversations about their experiences helped me realize that the Kennedy School would complement my quantitative background.” After graduating with her M.P.P., Aria’s job search led her to Memphis, TN, where she reached out to Sarah Jemison ’15— a former Project 55 Fellow she met at an AlumniCorps reception. Sarah made “super helpful suggestions for housing and she connected me with people in the city.” Soon, Aria joined Sarah’s book club for people in their 20s who were also trying to build community in Memphis. Aria reflects, “Little touches like connecting with Sarah go a long way when you move to a new place.”

Aria at AlumniCorps' Civically Minded Tigers event during Princeton Reunions in May 2019. She's joined by her mother, Tonya Miles '82 (former AlumniCorps Board Member), David Campt '82 and Katrina Browne '89, one of the first Project 55 Fellows and a fellow panelist.

Aria continues to be an active part of the AlumniCorps network, sharing her experiences on a Civically-Minded Tigers panel at Princeton Reunions in 2019. She continues to engage with AlumniCorps because she loves to see “people coming together to support the public good through different angles.” We can’t wait to see where Aria’s trajectory leads her next.