Post 3.

Every intern position has its drawbacks and half way through the semester I discovered what mine was going to be. DATA ENTRY!! My manager approached me one day and said, "Lindsey, I think you're ready to learn how to use one of our primary data systems" and I thought, "Sounds interesting, when can we get started!" Little did I know that learning the system would automatically volunteer my services to anyone in the office who was behind on his/her data entry work. Soon, I was flooded with stacks of papers from different project managers that needed to be entered into the system. Although this aspect of the job was tedious and boring it is an important part of working in the public sector because it ensures that agencies and departments remain accountable to the public and that the public has access to all the information available to them. This raises an issue that I have with the public sector and education in general.

Upon entering the MPA program, I had very little knowledge or experience in politics, government organizations, or anything within the public sector really. I had no idea that ordinary citizens could access the millions of documents each of these departments and agencies possess on the thousands of cases they deal with each year. And although I consider myself a well-educated person I was completely ignorant of my right to all public information. Many of my classes discuss the lack of civic engagement and participation currently plaguing our society and I have to put part of the blame on our de-emphasis of our right to public information. More people would get involved if they felt the government was accessible to them and had experience utilizing some of these resources to gain knowledge about everyday things happening in their communities. Starting in primary school we should have kids looking into agency documents so they know they can always have an affect on their world.

Post 2.

As an intern in the Community Outreach Unit I discovered the many mandates that guided much of the work that the employees conducted. Most mandates only hindered the unit's efforts to distribute information to impacted communities and hold public awareness meetings. The unit struggled to gain significant public participation in the issues facing these neighborhoods and often felt frustrated by the limitations placed on the activities of the community outreach team. There were some exceptions of course, since some neighborhoods were located in major federally funded contaminated sites where large construction projects were going to take place which could potentially impact the livelihoods of these homes and families. In these communities, more citizens rallied for the cause and attended most meetings. However, these often ended in frustration because the representatives of the businesses being held accountable typically gave very scientific and convoluted presentations full of technical language and subject matter unfamiliar to most in the audience. These were mainly geologists and hydrologists explaining the different types of treatments they could use to clean up the contamination but who were seemingly unaware that most people from the neighborhoods did not have a technical background.

When I was given the task of transcribing the recordings of the meeting to be used as public record I often thought that all of these professionals could really benefit from one refresher course in public speaking and presentations. Rule #1 for PowerPoint slides: do not use too much text. Rule #2: keep the number of slides to a minimum or you will lose the audience's interest. So many of these presentations went on for 45 minutes to an hour and a half. It was at this point that I realized how much we are needed in the public sector. Just the simple things, like putting together a presentation, could be greatly improved with the input from someone who has just gone through 6 years of presentations! In some situations, a stellar presentation could mean gaining support for a project with additional funding or simply helping your constituents understand an issue facing their community. I had several "aha" moments during my time at ADEQ where I realized that my education will help me in the real world-which made me happy about my decision to spend all that money :)

Post 1.

The format of my blog posts may not follow a traditional format since I will be writing from memory. I interned in the Spring of 2010 at the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. I spent most of my time working in the Community Outreach Unit of the Waste Programs Division but also helped on smaller projects in other units. The experience as a whole was very informative and incredibly fun! The supervisor of our unit made an effort to involve me in all of their activities, meetings, and events-I really gained a sense of what it was like to be a part of their team. She also volunteered my services to other managers around the office who were working on a variety of different projects and who had a variety of different tasks they needed help with. Everyday I learned something new and interesting! And everyday I got to work with someone completely different than the day before. One day it would be a geologist, the next it would be the Administrator's Assistant, and some days it would be a phone conference with people from different parts of the state. I was exposed to many facets of environmental regulation and clean-up-an area of interest that I hope to pursue after graduation. I experienced the administrative paperwork involved in documenting and processing environmental claims, the use of science and technology to extract hazardous material from the water and soil, and the human side of communities who are fighting to protect their homes and the quality of their environments.

I intend to use this blog to share with you the many great experiences I had at ADEQ and I look forward to hearing about your internships as well.