Justin Bell
The Leduc Representative
Leduc’s growth may be booming, but the community still retains enough of its small town feel for Kate Wilson.
The political science major from the University of Alberta will be spending the next year in the City of Leduc office learning the ins and outs of municipal administration.
“(Leduc) still has very much a small town feel to it,” said Wilson. “It makes a big difference when people smile at you.”
The city is triple the size of her hometown of Vegreville, population 5,376.
Wilson is at the city as part of an Alberta Municipal Affairs internship program. Along with 14 other students at municipalities across the province, she will get a firsthand look at how cities are run. Students have also taken up internships in Beaumont, Olds, County of Wetaskiwin and Red Deer County, among others.
Wilson will spend a month in each city department, from finance to community services to corporate services. Although the yearlong internship is longer than usual internships, it gives students time to take in each department and get a feel for how they fit into the bigger picture.
“As soon as you start to get something, they boot you off to something else,” quipped Wilson.
Wilson started her political science degree focusing on international relations, moved on to federal politics and spent one summer working for the province. She called her move into municipal politics “the next logical step.”
The internship program run by the province existed in the ‘80s but was cut in the early ‘90s when the government was trying to slash spending. The program started up again 2002.
A study conducted for municipal affairs in 2004 of municipal administrators found 44 per cent would be leaving in the next six years, while 79 per cent would be gone within 15 years.
“The successful Municipal Internship Program is part of the formula that supports the growth and development of municipalities while also help Alberta students pursue a career goal in local government,” said Rob Renner, minister of municipal affairs, in a written statement.