The Stokes' Prize is one of four prestigious awards granted to graduating MPA and MPP students at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. The award recognizes both academic achievement and public service leadership and is awarded to the graduating students whose achievements best exemplify the work of the late Donald E. Stokes, former dean of the Wilson School.

This year’s graduation honored students Michael Carlson MPA '16 and Kabira Namit MPA '16 with Stokes’ Awards for their outstanding academic and service accomplishments.

Carlson grew up in Galena, Illinois, and studied economics and history as an undergraduate at Austin College. He then spent a year abroad at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Prior to attending the Wilson School, Carlson spent four years at the Federal Reserve Bank in Washington, D.C., first as a research assistant in the international banking section and then as a financial analyst in the stress testing group.

Namit, a native of Mumbai, completed his undergraduate education in economics and statistics at St. Xavier’s College and obtained a Master of Science in Development Economics from the University of London. After that, he worked for the United Kingdom Civil Service before moving to Accra, Ghana, for an Overseas Development Institute Fellowship, working as an economic adviser to the Ministry of Education in Ghana. Before joining the Wilson School, Namit lived in Lilongwe, Malawi, and worked on projects for the World Bank and the Ministry of Health of Malawi.

Namit and Carlson exemplified public service during their time at the Wilson School and both found it to be a rewarding experience.

“The Wilson School is small place and we all feel very connected to it,” Carlson said. “[Our class] formed strong bonds with each other and strong bonds with the school, which has given so much to us. These bonds filled us with a strong sense of wanting to give back. You can see this exemplified in how many members of our class served on the student body.”

That student body, the Woodrow Wilson Action Committee, included approximately one-third of their class, as students sought opportunities to help their graduate program achieve its highest potential. Namit and Carlson became the curriculum representatives, acting as liaisons between the students and administration, especially in matters of course offerings. The two students surveyed their classmates and analyzed data to determine which electives would best suit the needs of their peers.

Namit and Carlson also organized the topics for the policy workshop, a mandatory third semester group project examining policy implementations. Namit and Carlson wanted to ensure that students had interests represented in the available workshop topics. While the administration initially offered seven suggestions, Namit and Carlson also polled their classmates, eventually replacing a few topics with new ideas based on student interest to ensure full representation.

For example, there were originally no proposed workshop topics related to macroeconomics, but Carlson and Namit’s surveys indicated the class had significant interest doing something macro-related. Karen McGuinness, associate dean for graduate education at the Wilson School, was open to the idea, so a group of students brainstormed and decided to research Chinese Foreign Direct Investment in Zambia. McGuinness helped the students find both a professor to lead the workshop and a client. The students ended up having a very successful workshop, including a trip to Zambia to complete their research.

It was the administration’s individual attention to the students’ needs that originally attracted Namit to the Wilson School. He recalled that when he applied to the program, the Wilson School made it financially feasible for him to attend a prospective student open house weekend even though he was living in West Africa—a gesture he finds incredibly memorable.

In addition to the administration’s care for students, he recalls the Wilson School professors being a large part of why he chose to attend this program.

“When I applied, I recognized many of the Wilson School professors as outstanding names in their field,” Namit said. “Anne Case was here, as were Atul Kohli, Ashoka Mody and Angus Deaton. Who could resist having an opportunity to learn from them? I have also learned as much from my classmates as I did from my professors,” Namit said. “I'm still in awe of the work they have done and have benefited greatly from collaborating with them on projects and problem sets throughout the two years.”

Carlson echoes gaining enrichment from his professors and peers.

“My classmates were all intimidatingly accomplished, and I learned so much from them. Our small class size meant we spent two whole years together working on projects, debating each other and living together,” Carlson said. “Additionally, professors like Alan Blinder, Ashoka Mody and Martha Coven are all not only brilliant scholars, but also accomplished policy leaders who can marry the theory to real-world experiences. I'm grateful to have gotten to study with them.”

Namit, who spent his second year tutoring first year MPA students in microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics, cares deeply about helping others get the most they can from their time at Princeton and recommends future students take full advantage of the Princeton environment.

“I’d tell all students coming to the Wilson School to not be afraid to challenge yourself and take at least a couple of classes outside the program during your time here,” Namit said. “Take or audit a class in psychology, math or even astronomy. The astronomy class here was actually my favorite!”

Both Namit and Carlson are grateful to have had the opportunity to earn a Wilson School education and feel that ending their time at Princeton by winning the Stokes' Award is a memorable honor.

“I was very honored and thankful to receive the award, and that was made even more special by the fact that Dean Stokes' wife attended the ceremony and I got to meet her,” Carlson said. “The Stokes family is famous around the school and so it meant a lot to speak with her.”

Namit agrees, acknowledging that winning this award means a lot not only to him personally, but also to his support network back home.

“Hearing the news about the award and the fact that mine and Mike’s names will be on a plaque at our school for years to come has made my mother incredibly proud,” Namit said. “I never would have made it this far if it wasn’t for her love, guidance and support.”

Both graduates plan to take their experiences to Washington, D.C. Namit will work for the World Bank, travelling between Ghana, Liberia and D.C. while working on education projects under World Bank Sector Manager and Lead Education Specialist Lily Mulatu, MPA ‘89.

In June, Carlson moved to D.C. with his partner Matt—whom he thanks very much for his encouragement throughout the program—and began working at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think-tank working to improve national financial regulation. Carlson credits the Wilson School for preparing him to work in D.C.; the emphasis placed on students cultivating strong communication and quantitative skills makes Carlson confident in his ability to contribute to policy in D.C.

“After my time at the Wilson School, I’m a lot more confident in my ability to run the analyses that I’ll be doing at the think-tank,” Carlson said. “My classes also helped to improve my writing. There’s a significant communication component at the Wilson School, aiming to improve everyone’s ability to write well-thought-out policy memos, which was incredibly beneficial. I had a wonderful time in my two years at Princeton, and I’m very grateful for the entire experience.”