Interns Learn Ropes
Red Deer Advocate
Nov 7, 2006
Qualified graduates from a variety of university programs are beefing up their resumes while working in municipal administration.
Now in its fifth year, the province’s Municipal Internship Program has in 2006-07 placed 15 graduates into year-long internships at cities, towns and counties.
The current group includes:
-Jodi Drozda, formerly of Valleyview, who has a BA in history with a minor in economics and is hosted by the Town of Lacombe.
-Nina Gales, from White Rock, B.C., who has a BA in political science and is hosted by the Town of Olds.
-Red Deer County intern Tyler Westover, whose political science degree is focused on internal and comparative politics.
County manager Rob Coon said the county takes part in the program to help develop young leaders for careers in municipal administration. “We’re hugely supportive of this program. We were identified as a municipality that may want to take part.”
While the county has hired one of its former interns in a short-term placement, the program is more about developing leaders than recruiting staff, said Coon. Westover, for example, plans to apply for law school when his internship is complete.
Interns’ base salaries are covered by Alberta Municipal Affairs and topped up by the towns and cities that hire them. Coon said the county pays a portion of each intern’s salary, but could not say how much.