Who? What? Why?!

Who is the City of Casa Grande? Casa Grande, Arizona is a a rural city just less than half way between the Phoenix metropolitan area and Tuscon. It's population is roughly around 52,000 people and growing at an annual rate of 7.5% annually.

What is the City of Casa Grande? Casa Grande is a Manager-Council city with City Manager, Jim Thompson. The Council includes Mayor Bob Jackson, Mayor Pro Tempore Lisa Fitzgibbons, and Council Members Dick Powell, Mary  Kortsen, Karl Montoya, Matt Herman, and Ralph Valera. The various departments that service the public are the City Manager's office, the City Attorney, the City Clerk, City Magistrate, Community Services, the Finance Department, Public Safety (including Police and Fire), Planning and Development, and lastly, Public Works.

My direct supervisor was Ben Bitter, Management Analyst and an alumni of the MPA program and the Alliance for Innovation Marvin Andrews Program. I was able to do quite a few exciting assignments for the management analyst who tripled as the economic development manager and the airport manager, Richard Wilkie. (There will be quite a bit of airport chatter in the upcoming posts, it was a fascinating project!)

Why the City of Casa Grande? During my interview they explained a few of the projects they had in mind if I were to begin the internship with the City. They included a project for the airport in gaining Through-The-Fence Access from the FAA and assistance with Economic Development through preparing for RECon 2013, in addition to any other projects that may arise. The City offered an opportunity to experience what the City Manager's office not only does for the City on a daily basis, but personal growth by participating in projects fully. I wouldn't just be sitting observing, although I was able to sit in and observe many great meetings. I was going to be actively participating in the work of the City for the citizens of Casa Grande. Additionally, I was going to get a great breadth of experience with the various departments the City operates. Although I had previously worked with the Scottsdale Police for over two years and was provided with great depth into that field, it wasn't an overall look at municipal governments. This opportunity provided that with the flexibility of maintaining a full time class schedule.

Greetings and Salutations!

Hello readers and welcome to my little corner of the bloggosphere!

I am in my second year of my master's program with ASU. I received my undergrad in Pyschology on the Tempe campus and am excited about the year ahead. I'm actually currently living in Los Angeles as a fellow for ASU with the Alliance for Innovation and the California Civic Innovation project and it's quite the adventure getting adjusted to life in LA! I was a previous intern (during my undergrad) with the Scottsdale Police Department in their Crime Analysis Unit. Needless to say, I have a breadth of experience interning in the public sector!

All of that being said, the purpose of this blog is actually for my last internship I finished just a few days before relocating with the City of Casa Grande. I worked as a management intern under City Manager Jim Thompson and Deputy City Manager Larry Rains. My direct supervisor is actually a graduate of the MPA program and had great insights into the program. It was a great experience and I'm grateful for the opportunity to work with the city.

Seeing as how my internship ended over this past summer break (August 5th was actually my last day), I'll be coming at this blog a little bit differently than others. However, I quite vividly remember my excitement of beginning this new chapter of my adventure back in March.

After my initial interview I had a few goals in mind for my time spent with Casa Grande:

• Learn of various departments of the City, especially those I know I wouldn't necessarily enjoy (aka, water treatment). I continuously want to expand my comfort zone and learn about things that don't necessarily come easily to me or appeal immediately to my interests. 
• Present to City Council in a formal setting. Although my previous internship had me presenting to superiors regularly, there is a difference when presenting in a public setting with elected officials. Learning the skills and needs of public presentations and practicing those skills is imperative for a future career in city management.
• Better understand the needs of a smaller community. I'm a Arizona native and frequently visited Casa Grande while growing up. However, it's certainly a different type of city than where I grew up in Mesa or when I worked in Scottsdale. I wanted to better experience and understand the differences between the communities I knew and the one I would be working in. 

This blog will have some thought provoking insights into the world of City Management from this graduate perspective. Not because my experience is vastly different from anyone else's. Rather, I think it's because I've had more time to think about and mull over the events of my time and what I've learned. I've been able to take that information and mold it into my everyday life and my (present)future experiences. 

I hope you all find this to be a fun look at a city that probably doesn't come to mind right away. And perhaps, when a friend in the program talks to you about wanting to find an internship in city management, you'll be able to send them in a successful direction! 

Thanks and talk to you soon :)