From classroom to City Hall: A Beatrice intern’s experience

Throughout this internship, I have had the opportunity to travel around with many of the city's departments. I have traveled just about everywhere around the community learning about utilities like electricity, water, sanitation and sewers. I have ridden along with our police officers, visited court with our city attorney and planted trees with our Public Properties Department. I have been a part of meetings with the city administrator, mayor and City Council regarding many things our community is working on. Even the most mundane tasks have taught me much about Beatrice and city administration. The few short paragraphs below just scratch the surface of the many things during my time as an intern.

First and foremost, I would like to give a shoutout to all the employees that I have had the pleasure of working with. Each of these employees, and I have worked with many of them, is motivated and takes pride in their work. They have shown me that there are many benefits to having a career with the City of Beatrice. I would highly encourage anyone wanting a career to consider applying for a position with the city. The pay and benefits are great, and you get to work alongside people doing work that makes a difference.

Every project I got to work on and everything I learned, I looked at through two lenses: first as a student, and second as a resident. As a student, I have learned that experience is a far superior teacher than a textbook is. For example, a textbook will tell you how to communicate with others in a business setting, but seeing and doing it builds the confidence and skills. I have learned many things at college, but the things I have learned from our city administrator, department heads and many of the employees of those departments are, to me, more practical and memorable.

As a resident of Beatrice, I am proud to call this place home. The leadership our community has is strong. Each one of our departments is full of knowledgeable and insightful people. Something that is nice about how our city is set up in comparison to other communities around us is the unity among our departments. If it is borrowing a trailer or lending a hand with a project, our departments are great at completing tasks with diligence and efficiency, saving time, money and resources.

Speaking of resources, our city has and takes advantage of a number of tools and capabilities that other communities may not have. For example, the city is now using new GIS (geographic information system) software. This allows employees to more quickly and easily find things like manholes, water mains, electric lines and trees. This allows for better planning for city projects and residential inquiries. Our Water, Electric and WPC departments also have vacuum trucks. These trucks allow for cleaner and faster dirt work and jetting, or high-pressure water spraying that cleans out things like sewer lines. These resources make the city more productive. A more productive and efficient city government leads to a better community.

One thing that I have observed is the city government's relationship with our community. Many changes have been discussed recently in our City Council meetings. Before I started attending these meetings, I had little knowledge about what was going on in Beatrice. I began regularly attending these meetings and have learned much. Another thing I have learned is that the minutes to these meetings are also posted, in case you were not able to attend or have questions. These meetings and minutes are ways for residents to be informed and stay engaged with their neighbors and leaders.

I came to City Hall this summer uncertain if city administration was a career I would like to pursue after college. After spending time with the City of Beatrice, I feel more confident that this is what I want to do. Serving the public while engaging in different tasks and projects is something I find rewarding and eventful. I am thankful for my time as an intern and everyone who helped make it possible.