Student Highlight: John Rock
Meet John Rock (far left in photo), a second-year MPA student who is an Executive Management & Budget
Intern for Park City, UT. The MPA program asked him a few questions about his experience:
What projects did you work on as an intern for Park City? What was the most interesting part of your internship?
I was able to work on several projects over the course of the summer for Park City Municipal Corporation (PCMC), including getting the Municipal Code, Ordinances, and Resolutions online, working on implementing a new training resource and organizing/help write policies for the Emergency Management department, and spearheading a report for the Utah League of Cities and Towns (ULCT), Governor’s Office, and Salt Lake Chamber on PCMC’s regulatory and business outreach efforts which won us the “2016 Utah Governor’s Business Friendly Community Award” at the ULCT’s yearly conference.
The most valuable and interesting part of my internship has come through meeting and talking to the Management team, which was advice given to me by City manager Diane Foster, a graduate of the MPA Executive program herself. Being able to talk to those with much more experience than me about their own path to local government, how they ended up in Park City, what their position entails, and on their own successes and challenges gave me a lot of insight into what it takes to make a successful career in Local Government.
What advice would you give to students searching for internships?
Always be willing to network with your peers, instructors, and fellow employees. Likewise, don’t be afraid to take electives outside of the MPA program that deal with your concentration, even if you’ll never fully be in expert in that topic. I would not have had this opportunity without the help and advice of my professors, recommendations and encouragement from my classmates, and previous experience as an intern for Murray City. If you’re focusing in Local government it also pays to remember it’s a tight knit community, so work hard to make a good impression!
What projects did you work on as an intern for Park City? What was the most interesting part of your internship?
I was able to work on several projects over the course of the summer for Park City Municipal Corporation (PCMC), including getting the Municipal Code, Ordinances, and Resolutions online, working on implementing a new training resource and organizing/help write policies for the Emergency Management department, and spearheading a report for the Utah League of Cities and Towns (ULCT), Governor’s Office, and Salt Lake Chamber on PCMC’s regulatory and business outreach efforts which won us the “2016 Utah Governor’s Business Friendly Community Award” at the ULCT’s yearly conference.
The most valuable and interesting part of my internship has come through meeting and talking to the Management team, which was advice given to me by City manager Diane Foster, a graduate of the MPA Executive program herself. Being able to talk to those with much more experience than me about their own path to local government, how they ended up in Park City, what their position entails, and on their own successes and challenges gave me a lot of insight into what it takes to make a successful career in Local Government.
What advice would you give to students searching for internships?
Always be willing to network with your peers, instructors, and fellow employees. Likewise, don’t be afraid to take electives outside of the MPA program that deal with your concentration, even if you’ll never fully be in expert in that topic. I would not have had this opportunity without the help and advice of my professors, recommendations and encouragement from my classmates, and previous experience as an intern for Murray City. If you’re focusing in Local government it also pays to remember it’s a tight knit community, so work hard to make a good impression!
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