Biography
I chose the MPA program at Marshall University for several reasons. I wanted to attend an MPA program after I finished my undergraduate, but shortly after graduating I received a job offer and decided to put pursuing my master’s degree on hold. A few years later I had heard that Marshall was starting a MPA program. I looked in to it and decided it would be a perfect fit for me. The MPA program became attractive to me during my first year of working in the “real world”. I began to take note of things happening in my state and decided I would like to be part of change that happens here to make West Virginia a greater state.
The MPA has greatly affected my professional life. I have grown to become a director in a Non-Profit at a company called First Choice Services that provides treatment services for the population of West Virginia. We also offer grant writing for organizations and help provide data collection and evaluation. It has helped me to become a key asset in my company by providing critical thinking skills as well as leadership skills to lead my staff into a progressive belief of every West Virginian getting the treatment they deserve.
Lugwig R. Balbuena is the Assistant Program Director with First Choice Health Systems.