In addition to my intensive work and studies in democratic transitions under Dr. Holly Reynolds, I most often today reference a freshman course I took on spatial reasoning with Dr. Michael Metcalf.  In that course, we discussed ways in which people identify different concepts and how they identify commonalities among seemingly abstract ideas.  I think spatial reasoning is important for people who work on public policy.  This skill set often proves critical in how quickly and effectively one can construct innovative ideas to confront modern day public policy challenges.  If I didn’t firmly grasp some of the lessons from that class then, they certainly resonate today.