Bridging Faith and Public Service
While Susan Sembach wasn’t expecting to find Dordt University, she is grateful that she did. “I had been looking for a Master of Public Administration (MPA) program to further my career,” she explains. “I saw ads for Dordt’s online programs and decided to see what Dordt had to offer. Lo and behold, an online MPA program!”
With a background in business administration, human relations, and entrepreneurship, and over a decade of experience in local government, Sembach was intrigued by Dordt’s commitment to a Christian worldview. “As someone working on strengthening my faith, finding a school with an emphasis on the intersection of faith and public service was huge for me,” she says.
Serving as the city clerk of Sibley, Iowa, Sembach was eager to begin applying skills and knowledge from the program immediately. “I was thrilled I could use my current role as a template for everything,” says Sembach. “I was able to apply concepts in real-time and experiment with them. I was also able to share real life examples of topics we studied with others in the program.”
As a non-traditional student, Sembach says the program offered her all the things she was looking for—one of those being convenience and flexibility. “The online format fit my needs and goals. While I knew I’d have to adjust my schedule, an online program was more convenient than attempting to attend classes in-person,” she says.
“I began to understand that God can be present in government through our behavior and how we bring understanding and kindness to situations and people that may need it most."
Sembach was also impressed by the rich experience and caring faculty members in Dordt’s MPA program. “I cannot give enough credit to the MPA instructors,” says Sembach. “Their knowledge, kindness, and support were outstanding.”
Originally looking for a program that would not only give her practical skills but also challenge her to faithfully engage in the sphere of public service, Sembach says she found exactly that at Dordt. “When I started serving in local government, I was influenced to believe that government and religion are—and should be—separate,” she says. She mentioned this to Dr. Brian Hoekstra, professor of business at Dordt, and after an in-depth conversation, “I began to understand that God can be present in government through our behavior and how we bring understanding and kindness to situations and people that may need it most. We don't have to stand at the pulpit to bring God's love to people.”
Sembach now serves as the city manager of Sibley. Ultimately, Sembach is grateful for the way Dordt’s MPA program helped her prepare for her continued service in the public sector and provided her with a deeper understanding of how public service is a space for kindness, understanding, and servant leadership. “Dordt has changed my life, and I couldn’t be more thankful for finding the program.”