The super cool thing about working both with Student Government and with the Office of the Mayor is that I have an inside track to anything that the University of Cincinnati SG wants to do involving people here.
For example, one of the things I am working on is getting the SG Senate to hold a meeting in the City Council Chambers. Normally someone in SG would have to work through a single contact with City Hall to find all the contacts and all the forms needed to get this done. But in my seat, all I have to do is run upstairs and grab the form, or call the department that I need to talk to for costs or parking. It makes things much easier, and I can reference both my involvement in Student Government or my involvement as an intern here at the Mayor's Office. Not only is it great on the University of Cincinnati's end to have an "in", it's also convenient for people working at the Mayor's Office as well. Since my position in Student Government is Assistant to the Student Body President, I can pass ideas initiating at this end onto President Beer or another cabinet member who may be able to get the ball rolling. Even though I am the bridge between these two organizations, I don't feel like I am getting walked all over. I am heading up the work on a few projects involving both sides, and I do most of the calling and contacting and organizing. It's really cool because last year I thought that I would never be able to head up a project by myself or get something really fantastic done on my own. I'm not from Cincinnati so I thought that it would be really difficult to know who to contact. Looking back, I'm not really sure what I was afraid of, people are people and calling them with a really stellar idea that you are excited about is not that difficult! I really can't wait to see where these projects go! Much love, M
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Working here at the Mayor's Office is really a blast, and it's also a continuation of a summer job that I thoroughly enjoyed. As an added bonus, City Hall is really stunning (as illustrated in the blog's header), and it's so cool to walk up to it and then be a part of the work that is being done here.
My summer job for the past two summers has been working for a local attorney. I was warned two summers ago, when I started there, that the clients may get a little crazy and that I will definitely have to deal with some people who are a little bit out of their right mind, the crazies. But probably the best part of the job was dealing with those people because it created a sense of bonding between me, the lowly intern, and the rest of the office. Countless laughs were shared over the kinds of things that people called in over, and how many times they called that day, and many a thanks was given to me for being the screen between the clients and the attorneys themselves. Now at the Mayor's Office, where I sit again as the lowly intern, I am amazed how even on a higher scale the fundamentals remain the same, just a larger quantity and a faster pace. There are still a few people who cause some laughter for everyone in the office. There are still a few crazies. I probably shouldn't call people that. There are still some very nice people who are just a little bit out of their right mind. Task wise, it's amazing to see how so many different people have to all work so very hard to make the Mayor's job a little easier. Workings here are much like those of a clock. If even one cog, one person is off or out for the day, the whole thing spirals into madness. Each person has such a specific set of duties and specific training on how to conduct their day-to-day operations, that it would be impossible to switch out people from one job to another. That being said, they are desperately short on interns, where they usually have 5-10, so far it's just me and one other intern. Truthfully, I am a bit nervous going foreword. Starting next Tuesday, City Council is back in session which means the workload here is heavier. I don't really see how the Mayor or any of his full time staff members or us two interns could be any busier, but apparently it's going to happen, and soon. Just Hanging Onto My Hat, and waiting for the workload. Much Love, M |
AuthorMiranda Hileman is an honors student at the University of Cincinnati embarking on a journey to combat the insanity of working for a public official. Archives
December 2014
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