My internship has provided me with valuable hands-on experience in municipal government, allowing me to develop practical skills in community engagement and public service. One of the most rewarding aspects of this internship has been the opportunity to take on a well-rounded role that combines planning, outreach, and municipal operations. I have assisted with the planning and coordination of recreation programs and community events, helping to ensure that these initiatives are organized and engaging. In addition, I have supported communication efforts by creating promotional materials and helping expand community outreach to increase participation and awareness of Borough programs and events.

As the intern for Bellevue Borough and Bona Fide Bellevue this summer, I have gained hands-on experience in community building, municipal leadership, and non-profit support. When I began with both organizations, my main goal was to assist with Active Transportation Plan (ATP) implementation, which is led by both the borough and by Bona Fide Bellevue, a non-profit who I have shared my time with this summer in addition to the municipality. Splitting my time between both groups has shown me the value that strong voices in the community can make.

As the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Stormwater Asset Accuracy & Implementation Intern for the Borough of Bradford Woods, I had the opportunity to apply GIS skills I’ve developed throughout school to real-world problems. The scope of my project was focused on ensuring the accuracy and implementation of the Borough’s stormwater infrastructure on the web-based GIS platform, TRAISR. The Borough is responsible for the maintenance of roughly 180 catch basins, 77 outfalls, 17 headwalls & endwalls, 51 culvert pipes, and miles and miles of stormwater pipes.

I gained practical experience in data analysis, infrastructure management, and municipal operations by supporting road maintenance planning using the Vialytics road assessment system, an AI powered tool that evaluates roadway conditions. I drove every street and alley in the borough to capture surface conditions using the Vialytics device, which photographs the roadway every ten feet and tags each image with GPS coordinates and timestamps. The system’s AI then identifies issues such as cracking, potholes, and surface deterioration, producing objective and consistent data for decision making. I analyzed this roadway condition data and used Microsoft Excel to organize information, build prioritization models, and help identify streets most in need of maintenance.

As Churchill’s Community Engagement and Project Specialist Intern, my primary focus has been on supporting resident and administrative needs for the borough. With Churchill being so small, I have gotten the opportunity to try on all of the “hats” that come along with a career in local government. My daily responsibilities have included serving as the point of contact for residents and connecting them with municipal resources, maintaining the borough’s financial records, issuing no lien letters, and overseeing the borough’s website and social media platforms.

During my internship with Edgeworth Borough, I completed a Residential Waste Collection Assessment and Solutions Development project focused on improving the Borough’s residential waste collection system. My work combined field assessments, GIS mapping, environmental policy analysis, and data management to evaluate current waste collection practices. Key responsibilities included creating a GIS mapping system for residential waste services, collecting and verifying field data, analyzing service classifications, reviewing municipal waste policies and contracts, and developing recommendations to improve efficiency and sustainability.

I’ve gained hands on experience in the City Clerk and City Manager’s Office, assisted with the farmers market and community prevention initiatives, participated in Code Enforcement, joined police ride along to better understand public safety, digitized historical records, updated the municipal website, attended council and planning meetings, and supported recreation planning as the city prepares to open its new downtown park. My time with the City of Johnstown has been a truly eye opening introduction to local government. I never thought much about how municipal operations worked, but navigating daily challenges and working closely with staff has been an amazing experience.

During my internship, I supported the city’s anti-blight efforts by helping document a citywide blight inventory, assessing the exterior conditions of roughly 3,900 properties and recording key details such as land use type (single-family, multi-family, commercial, or vacant), the presence of accessory dwelling units, and existing solar panel installations. To help translate these findings into policy, I assisted in drafting and updating eight new building code ordinances aimed at strengthening the city’s ability to combat blight. I also contributed to Latrobe’s zoning modernization efforts by helping digitize the city’s zoning map in ArcGIS, assigning each parcel a value corresponding to its zoning designation.

I created a new database for the City of Lower Burrell that will help keep track of businesses along the main business district while also gathering feedback from business owners to allow the city to improve and address the needs of local businesses. The feedback questions include issues they are facing, any traffic or parking issues, if any abandoned properties nearby affect them, what they believe will help the city, and other open ended feedback they may have. The collected data was mapped on ArcGIS Online where a point is created for each business that shows the business name, owner name, contact information, and property owner information.

As a municipal intern with Marshall Township, I helped protect the community from flood risks through inspection and data collection. My internship has allowed me to utilize the emergency management skills I have learned from college. Being able to apply concepts learned in the classroom to real world situation has been incredibly helpful in my professional development. For the duration of my internship, I have gone to every property within Marshall Townships floodplain and ensured compliance with FEMA and PEMA guidelines.

My primary project was to consolidate and drive community engagement efforts. I took full responsibility for management of our social media platforms, established accessibility standards across our online platforms, and identified the local organizations interested in collaborations with the Township. My secondary project was to establish a framework for Data Governance and AI policies. As the Township transitions from analog to digital processes, the amount of data created and stored is increasing drastically. Though implementation of Data Governance can take several years, I researched, planned, and piloted an approach to ensure Township data is held to security, quality, and accessibility standards.

Through my internship at the Town of McCandless, I had the opportunity to work with the Parks and Recreation Director on the preservation and revitalization of local history in the McCandless and surrounding North Hills communities. The bulk of my project consisted of scanning historic photos (some as early as the mid-1800s!) to add to the permanent collection of the Heritage and Cultural Center’s legacy. Additionally, I learned how local government operates, including meeting with internal departments, such as DPW, Police, Zoning & Planning, Finance, and outside community partnerships, such as the Ambulance Authority, Waste Management, and the Northland Public Library.

As the Community Development Intern with North Fayette Township, my main project was updating the township’s official map, to be included with the upcoming Comprehensive Plan. This involved both creating and compiling GIS data from various sources to create a map that accurately represents the township’s future development goals. In addition to updating the official map, I made various maps used as visual aids in land development meetings, including interactive web maps. I also used GPS technology to locate infrastructure that was not previously accounted for in the township’s GIS database. Additionally, I attended land development meetings and learned about the permitting and development process.

At North Strabane Township, I developed a variety of materials like event flyers, banners, social media graphics, videos, website content, and informational resources such as park infographics and a newsletter template. I worked extensively within the Township’s website platform, where I contributed to web design, content organization, improvement with accessibility, and experience enhancements. I also had the opportunity to collaborate with the Parks & Recreation staff to promote and design graphics for events such as Community Day, Holidays in the Park, and more. I was able to photograph activities like Community Day that can be used in future promotional materials. This internship helped me strengthen my skills in graphic design, web design, photography, videography, copywriting, branding, and digital marketing to provide a valuable experience communicating to a diverse group of residents at North Strabane.

The main project of my internship was a PDF remediation initiative designed to bring public resources and forms into compliance with new federal regulations. For this project, I reviewed the new requirements and exceptions of the rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and developed a systematic method for evaluating and categorizing documents. I then took the action needed to update those files, using tools like CivicPlus and Adobe Acrobat to build new digital forms, alter existing PDFs, and update our township website. I also created job aids and trained township staff in new workflows to ensure long-term compliance. In addition to this project, I contributed to the summer edition of the township’s quarterly magazine, South Fayette Connect. I conducted archival research, interviewed local business owners, and authored 5 pieces for various sections of the magazine.

During my time with SRCOG and TCLB, I learned the process of grant applications and how the COG connects member municipalities to funding sources for various public projects. I contacted municipal leaders to help construct a narrative for the Greenways, Parks, and Recreation Program (GTRP) grant. In addition, I conducted research for a COG project, Alliance for Local Investment Growth Network (ALIGN), and put together an ArcGIS StoryMap to convey the regional opportunity for growth of clean technology. I also explored research opportunities for TCLB to help guide procedural changes in the Side Lot Program pricing and logistics of a developer’s agreement in member municipalities, to promise a certain percentage of affordable housing in private development.

In this position, I have gained hands-on experience working at the municipal level to help reconstruct and organize historical financial data for the Borough of Homestead, in addition to researching ways to use their data to inform financial decision-making and daily operations. I am also working on cross-departmental projects where I am developing skills in story map creation, clean and steel manufacturing industry research, and basic analysis in industry employment trends and local investment.

As the Shared Services Financial Assistant Project Intern, I supported financial and administrative projects serving multiple municipalities. My responsibilities included assisting with utility billing, organizing financial records, performing bank reconciliations, and supporting the implementation and testing of AccuFund accounting software. I also researched multi-municipal refuse services and shared service models to identify best practices. In addition, I prepared meeting summaries, documented procedures, and contributed to projects that improved organizational efficiency.

My internship with the Borough of White Oak was heavily centered around zoning and code enforcement. I thoroughly examined White Oak’s code and zoning regulations to mark down blighted properties that were either vacant or subject to code violations. I also performed mainly residential inspections with my supervisor, John Snelson, to ensure properties were fit for occupancy. In addition, I developed a comprehensive list of tax delinquent parcels that, after investigation, were deemed blighted and or vacant. The data that I collected was used to create a GIS visualization of priority properties throughout the borough.

During the internship with Whitehall Borough, my main project was to assist with the process of updating the 2019 Parks Master Plan. The Borough has six neighborhood parks and two undeveloped park sites, one of which was acquired after the first Parks Master Plan was published. Many parks received partial upgrades since enacting the first Parks Master Plan seven years ago, but a reevaluation is needed to confirm if the existing plan is still valid and relevant. My job was to compile the data collected from the first public survey, compose and publish a second public survey, assist in running the first public meeting, prepare materials for the second public meeting, and provide a final report of all findings.