My job as an intern at Evant City Hall was to collect, process, and audit utility bills. I also ordered office supplies, tidied up the office, and filed multiple types of forms and paperwork. The filing of paperwork included everything the city’s accountant would need for auditing purposes such as copies of checks we received as well as ones we paid out. While all of these tasks may seem mundane I was also able to do so much more than I expected. For instance, I created a city Facebook page, planned and executed community events and gained experience with city governments and officials.
I also had the opportunity to form relationships with people that live in the town and I was able to discern the need for a space where community events and social gatherings could be held locally, which led to my project of remodeling and redecorating a meeting hall into a community center. I used about a 7’x12′ section of the meeting room for my project. Within this area, I set up a computer, coffee maker, refrigerator, WiFi router, microwave, and a table with chairs. I made coffee fresh daily and had other refreshments available. My community center provides a place for people to meet, use the internet, take online classes, and get updated about community happenings.
I gained extensive knowledge about the roles of city mayors, clerks, and elected officials through this internship as well as an in-depth look into how members of a community interact and social aspects of small-town cities. I would recommend a city hall internship to anyone interested in government workings, community, elected officials, or zoning/ordinances. In the future I plan on continuing my education and possibly look into running for office in a small community like Evant towards the end of my city planning career. Working so closely with city government showed me how much influence an individual can have on the way a town is run and I believe I could make a lot of positive change for the environment and people’s daily lives. Overall I think this internship really cemented my future goals into place, whereas before I was unsure of which direction to go in my career path.