Carrying the baton for past generations

“HKS has been the first place in my entire educational and professional career where we are discussing what I really want to be talking about,” says Justin Flynn MPA 2025. 

What is it that he wants to talk about? 

How he and his classmates can solve the world’s problems.  

Flynn has always been drawn to the idea of being civically active—from growing up in the suburbs of Detroit to now graduating with a Master in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School. 

“My parents emphasized the importance of education and understanding my background as an African American,” Flynn says. “Neither of them was super engaged in politics, but they always talked about how their parents were involved in the community. That drove me to lead a life in public service.” 

At 18, Flynn received an athletic scholarship to attend Boston University, where he ran the 100-meter dash on the track and field team and pursued a bachelor’s degree in finance. In addition to his coursework and athletics at BU, Flynn got involved with student government and the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground.  

“As someone who was interested in policy and impact-driven work, I think there was a juxtaposition with my major that didn’t make a lot of sense at the time,” he says. “I felt that with a business-oriented background, I could eventually bring a new perspective to policy-oriented positions.” 

Hoping to continue to learn and find his way, Flynn enrolled in a dual master’s degree program at the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce and Esade, where he studied global commerce and global strategic management. Flynn explored how business strategy differs in the three largest markets in the world: the United States, China, and the European Union. Throughout this nine-month program, he studied in China, Spain, and Virginia, focusing on the economics in each nation.

“Working towards these degrees was the first time I considered studying public policy,” Flynn says. “I found myself thinking about how policy affects companies as they enter new markets.”

He continued to think about this as he entered the workforce, still unsure of his future. 

Then, it clicked. 

“In all of my academic and professional work, I found ways to connect abstract ideas with public policy issues,” Flynn says. “Then one day, I said to myself, ‘Why don’t I just study this directly?’”

So, he applied to HKS.

The Master in Public Administration Program at HKS attracted Flynn because it offered the best opportunity to study his many interests, including economic development, technology and innovation, and international security policy.

These interests all came back to growing up in the Midwest, where issues such as the United States military involvement in the Middle East and trade agreements shaping the automotive industry had an acute impact in communities like Flynn’s in Michigan.

“In a state where both the cars and the factories that build them are central to our livelihoods and identities, shifts in national manufacturing priorities are not just instruments of some theoretical grand strategy,” he says. “These shifts can change not just how we live, but the futures we believe are possible.”

At the beginning of his first year, Flynn immediately noticed differences between HKS and his earlier educational experiences. Instead of just learning skill-based, practical approaches, HKS also focused on “issue-based, empathetic approaches.”

“In particular, I noticed these differences in one of my foreign policy classes,” he offers. “I had the relevant skills to assess the situation, but I now also had to consider the issues and forces changing the dynamics within that space.”

The lessons continued. As a course assistant in Professor Carleigh Beriont’s course DPI-342: Religion, Politics, and Policy in the United States, Flynn learned the importance of asking good questions, and as a course assistant in Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs Fredrik Logevall’s course IGA-125: Reasoning from the Past: Applied History and Decision Making, he learned about the importance of understanding others’ viewpoints when negotiating. He appreciated Professor Logevall’s emphasis on the importance of history in public policy. 
 
“Being aware of history and integrating it into decision-making is something I’ll take with me into the next chapter of my life and further in my career,” Flynn says.

Flynn’s eagerness to engage with the HKS community extended beyond the classroom.

He was the strategy and content co-chair for the 2025 Black Policy Conference, held a summer internship at the United States Department of Commerce working on the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Implementation team, and was heavily involved with the Taubman Center for State and Local Government. He participated in the Center’s Economic Development Seminar, worked as the lead research assistant for the inaugural Economic Development Community of Practice with Executive Director Rafael Carbonell, and spent January Term as a Transition Term Fellow working with the newly elected Mayor of Durham, North Carolina, Leonardo Williams.

Flynn’s time in Durham—where he was able to witness the everyday life of a mayor—was a highlight of his HKS career.

“Leo embraced having fellows there and showed every aspect of his career,” Flynn says. “Being exposed to a public servant at that level affirmed that there is so much good you can do through government.”  

Flynn’s key takeaway from his experience was that, at a human level, public service leaders need to be able to connect with members of their community and be attuned to asking the right questions. 

“The way that Mayor Williams listened, asked questions, and just simply engaged with people kept me thinking about the importance of connection,” says Flynn. “That’s what it’s all about, right? If the connection isn’t there, you have policies that are for people, but not by people.”

After graduation, Flynn hopes to “expand his capacity to serve.”

“I’m interested in work that aligns foreign and domestic strategies so that the average person has a better opportunity to advance their lives,” Flynn says. “That might involve working back in the Midwest because of my connection to where I’m from.”

Flynn compares his call to public service to his time as an NCAA Division I Track and Field athlete.

“My parents’ generation—and the generations before them—did a lot of work to pass the Civil Rights Act and make progress for the United States. The only thing they ask us to do is continue the work. So, I’ll humbly accept the baton and carry it forward.”

Portraits by Lydia Rosenberg; inline images courtesy of Justin Flynn