Week 5: Making Progress with the Charlotte City Council

So far, two things have surprised me interning with the local government. The first thing is that many council members have second jobs. Some of them even own their own business. This was shocking to me because serving on the council takes up a lot of time, they work 7 days a week without any set hours. How could they possibly juggle both? Working for the local government does not pay but they serve because they are passionate about the work that they do for Charlotteans and the growth of the city. The second thing is I did not expect to meet so many people. Originally, I thought I would only be working in the office and with the councilwoman’s assistant. I did not expect to meet so many people in the fields of my interests (communications and politics) or other elected officials. This is very exciting for me because its an opportunity to build my network and learn about potential careers.

The most interesting thing that I learned is how much work it takes to propose and pass bill. There is a lot of planning, reviewing, discussing, and presenting between many different city employees and council. Attending council meetings and asking the councilwoman questions has helped me see the efforts the council is making to make Charlotte a more safer, affordable, and sustainable city. A highlight of the week is gaining more comments and likes on my posts about what the councilwoman is doing. I also am gaining more followers on Linkedin. This is a highlight to me because since it is my first time using my personal account to promote someone else, having likes indicates to me that some of my followers like the work Councilwoman Ajmera is doing. Also, by gaining followers on LinkedIn, I am building my network and viewing the profiles of people who I may be interested in contacting. Social media and writing projects are continuing to go well and improving as I am posting and writing more.