Week 8: Progress Update at the Charlotte City Council

This summer has flown by! On a positive note, it truly has been rewarding. This week, my tasks were more on the administration side which was informative to see the kind of work that Councilwoman Ajmera’s assistant does for Ajmera. By creating and updating a new events spreadsheet, I was able to see all the events and meetings that the councilwoman has done during her time in office and during the election season. I was surprised to see the amount of scheduled events/meetings that she had in one day or even one week especially because she also works as a consultant. It was almost shocked when she had nothing scheduled.The biggest take-away for me was seeing the dedication that she had to meet with all different type of people, such as city employees, interested college students, or contractors, around the city and surrounding areas. In other words, her events/meetings were not just required city meetings. This is the kind of elected official that I want to be one day–someone who really is known in their community and making an honest effort to make a difference. I have enjoyed working closely with the councilwoman and her assistant as they include me on current events, what they are working on, and on tasks that I can help with.

A highlight from this week was working on a published blog post for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Government. The blog website is focused on civic engagement. I have chosen to focus my article on the growth of Charlotte that I have personally witnessed and how I learned much more about the city during my time as an intern for the Charlotte City Council. I am really excited to be entering the final stages of this post as I am ready to share what I have learned with the world. The post has also been a great way to reflect on my internship experience. Hard to believe that next week is my final week. I hope to keep in touch with Councilwoman Ajmera and help out with her campaign when I can.