Katy Siddall '06

I decided to major in Philosophy my freshman year at Simpson after taking Philosophy 101 with Dr. Pauley. I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I graduated, but I deeply enjoyed trying to make sense of the world and the arguments we studied. As a philosophy major, my path was flexible and able to fit my interests and personality. I supplemented my philosophy classes with those in the English department and social science fields; together these studies helped me become the Editor in Chief of Simpson’s literary magazine, Sequel,andled me to a second major in Political Science. In 2005 I interned for Congressman Leonard Boswell in Washington, D.C. and then worked for his Des Moines Office for a summer. My graduation followed my work with Dr. Allison Wolf as Seminar Assistant for Ethics 101, which was coupled with an independent study of feminist pedagogy.

After graduation in 2006, I accepted a position with Congressman Boswell’s Washington office where I provided domestic policy analysis on issues affecting agriculture, health care, women, Social Security, and general welfare. I now work for Congressman Braley as a Senior Legislative Assistant and I advise on energy, business, and tax policy. While working for Congress, I have returned to school and will soon be completing a Masters Degree in Public Management from Johns Hopkins University. My studies encompass the functions and history of government with an emphasis on economics, nonprofits, and policy analysis.

It is with the help of my philosophy studies that I have been successful in both work and graduate school. Philosophy teaches you how to be critical and seek answers to new and evolving questions. Simpson’s philosophy department armed me with the ability to think critically as well as ethically while working in government and advising on difficult issues regarding Wall Street commodity trading, government oversight, health care, and women’s rights.