As the humid days of summer cool down, our 2021 Municipal Internship Program (MIP) comes to a successful conclusion. This year, we had 14 bright grads and undergrads join the program to represent a variety of municipal governments, development corporations, and councils of governments.

The 26th cycle of MIP took us up and down the western Pennsylvania region, from the Town of Greenville in Mercer County to Union Township in Washington County. Projects this year ranged from tracking blight, MS4 infrastructure, and storm drains in parks, to positions that promoted community engagement and outreach.

Intern James Gulla spent this summer in McCandless revamping their employee handbook and finance policies. The highlight of his internship was the opportunity to research and write grants for body cameras for the McCandless police. This opportunity placed him directly within the inner workings of local government, evolved his outlook on municipal government and the potential for a career in the field.

“It really was life changing for me,” he said. “I learned so much in a short amount of time and made friends and connections that will help me as I go forward in life. Your grades in school are incredibly important, but so are the connections you make.”

On the other side of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, Erica Barnes spent her summer at Steel Rivers Council of Governments (SRCOG) researching census tract data on community demographics. Erica then transformed this data into maps that will allow Steel Rivers COG to understand how to help the residents of its communities.

While Erica worked with staff, government experts, and non-government citizens across the SRCOG communities throughout her internship, she also found good company with her fellow MIP interns.

“The community of fellow interns was a great new resource to have people to network with and relate to. I was able to become closer with interns that attend the same university as me as well as create connections at new universities and academic levels. The placement experience fully enveloped me in doing meaningful, helpful work that gave me experiences to guide my career and academic path.”

Within this community of interns was Sydney Putnam, who was stationed at the City of Washington Citywide Development Corporation. She was selected to assist in a boots-on-the-ground blight study of the 6th ward in the City of Washington, PA. Despite being nearly 40 miles apart, Erica and Sydney had the opportunity to collaborate on blight surveying in Washington.

Her placement site and MIP supported her through this summer, offering the opportunity to meet other young professionals and seasoned community development leaders. This experience refined Sydney’s professional skills, but also allowed her to give back to her hometown.

“The Municipal Intern Program is a great opportunity for professional development, via learning about Governmental career paths and networking,” she said, “I felt supported by and engaged with LGA this summer, and my internship was greatly enriched by MIP programming.”

Before we said goodbye to our interns, we held our Annual Recognition Luncheon to celebrate their achievements for their communities. We gathered on August 6th, at the Boyce Park Four Seasons Lodge with interns, their supervisors, and our speakers.

The interns had the opportunity to network, sharing their experiences and some laughs. Several interns had the chance to meet face to face for the first time after communicating this summer on Zoom. At the photobooth station, interns, speakers, and supervisors posed to capture memorable moments of the day.

Our first speakers, the Allegheny County Deputy Director of Parks Melissa Swedish, and Intern Madelyn Dayton, introduced the department and discussed Madelyn’s summer-long project. Madelyn explained that her internship took her across the nine parks in the county to investigate the condition of MS4 infrastructure.  The data she collected will be used to track which outfalls need improvement to maintain water drainage and prevent flooding in the parks, and will secure critical funding to help make these improvements possible.

Next, our Keynote Speaker, Caren Glotfelty, the Executive Director of Allegheny County Parks Foundation, spoke with us about the foundation’s work. Caren explained the recent improvements the nine county parks have undergone to meet the increased usage. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of parks, serving as a place of refuge from the stress and chaos of the last year.

Thank you to our speakers, sponsors, and placement sites who ensure this program continues to bring young professionals relevant experience and skills for their future careers!

You can check out the image gallery from the event here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=lgamip&set=a.4309962825733314

Congratulations and best wishes to the 2021 class!

About Municipal Intern Program

The Municipal Intern Program was founded over two decades ago with the purpose of placing college undergraduate and graduate students in municipal government internships. This important workforce development program builds interest and funnels talent for local government careers. The program encompasses internships within councils of governments, local governments, and Act 47 communities.