How Heinz College Student Carrie Miller Is Building a Career in Public Service on Her Own Terms

Carrie Miller has wanted to work in public service as long as she can remember. Anyone who knew her growing up would tell you the same thing: Miller had an early resolve, and a clear sense of purpose. It’s no surprise that today, she’s a Master of Public Management (MPM) student at Heinz College set to graduate in December 2026. 

What those people probably did not anticipate was everything she would carry alongside that ambition. 

Miller grew up in a rural community in Pennsylvania where she, her sister, and her brother were among the only students of color in their school. Learning Black history - and her own family's history - sparked an interest in law and civil rights advocacy, one that would go on to guide her career plans for years to come. By her senior year of high school, Miller had merit scholarships to three colleges. 

Then Miller found out she was pregnant. None of the three schools would allow her to live off campus. She lost her scholarships and deposits, withdrew from all three, and had to reapply in April after the early-decision season had closed. 

It felt like everything she wanted was suddenly out of reach, and she would have to settle for a smaller version of the life she had planned, simply because she was going to be a parent. 

The path she had envisioned hadn’t disappeared, but it had changed. Miller persevered and found a different way forward. 

Forging a New Path 

Miller eventually finished her senior year, enrolled at a university that would work with her situation, and ultimately completed her bachelor's degree at Arizona State University. She interned in the U.S. Senate with then-Senator Bob Casey’s office, an experience she said mattered both for her resume and because it sparked her interest in government service. 

Miller went on to work for a government contracting firm in Arlington, Virginia, then spent nearly three years in Pennsylvania Congresswoman Summer Lee's Pittsburgh office, working on federal grants, community advocacy, and constituent services. 

All of it - the internships, the jobs, the long hours of public service work - happened while Miller was raising a child. 

"Everything that I have done from the time I finished my senior year of high school to today has been done with either a baby on my hip or a child by my side," Miller said.

She shares that experience not to emphasize difficulties she’s faced, but because she knows who’s listening. Miller is aware that some women may look at a graduate program and quietly conclude it isn’t for them because they have a child. 

Miller wants to challenge that assumption. 

"There are a ton of women who are thinking, 'This is a dream of mine, but I can't do it because I have a kid,'" Miller said. "I would love to break that stereotype." 

Why Heinz College? 

When Miller was researching graduate programs, she visited campuses at Georgetown University, George Washington University, and Texas A&M University, among others. She wanted a program grounded in data, one that took seriously the idea that problems without data behind them are too easily dismissed. 

She was also looking for a place where she could push back. That opportunity mattered as much to her as the curriculum.

"I've always been a person who shakes things up. I will call out injustice. I will speak up. And I feel like Carnegie Mellon has given me the tools and the space to do that," Miller said 

She put that quality into practice during her first year in the MPM program. In her “Creating Results-Oriented Programming” course, Miller examined CMU's childcare subsidy program, which included a voucher offered to help graduate student parents cover childcare costs. Miller identified barriers she did not think had been accounted for. She brought her findings to the program administrators. 

"I was able to have the tools, in terms of finding the data and reading the research, to actually give suggestions," Miller said. "They made some tweaks that will help it be a more accessible program." 

Having the research to back up her suggestions, she said, made all the difference in being heard. 

Two courses stand out from her graduate studies so far. An economic development course deepened her thinking on economic mobility for Black and brown communities and for women. The professor stayed in contact with Miller, helping her identify roles and approach specific topics in her work. The aforementioned "Creating Results-Oriented Programming" course helped Miller see that she could pursue goals that had previously seemed out of reach with the correct framework.

Advice for Prospective Students 

For anyone considering a career in public policy or government, Miller's advice is practical: Get the internship and build relationships. 

During her Senate internship, she made a point of getting to know people working across policy areas, including issues with which she wasn’t yet familiar. Those relationships proved invaluable years later when she was working in Congress and needed guidance navigating similar issues. 

She is also proactive about outreach. 

"Don't be afraid to message somebody on LinkedIn," Miller said. "A lot of the contacts I made and even interviews I got for jobs were because I reached out to someone first. In public policy and politics, people really want to help." 

For student parents weighing graduate school, her message is more personal.

"To the moms, the single parents: it's going to be hard," she said. "But it's a matter of choosing your path in the present and finding community along the way. A lot of us are really fighting hard to give our kids what we didn't have." 

After graduation, Miller plans to continue her work in public service, with a focus on economic mobility and the communities that federal and local policy does not always reach. "I didn't get into this for money," she said. "I got into this to help people. If that is really what I believe and what I want to do, then there is always work to be done."