City internship teaching future generation of municipal leaders

For more than 20 years, aspiring city managers and city planners have spent a semester in Mountain Brook to learn more about municipal government before they enter the working world.

Mountain Brook’s internship program, for students studying public administration and similar career fields, offers a chance to tour and learn about each city department and even play a role in ongoing projects, City Manager Sam Gaston said.

“We’re trying to help prepare the next generation of, hopefully, municipal planners or city managers, etc. And so we try to give the students a practical experience, some good exposure to the operations of municipal government,” Gaston said.

The most recent city intern was Daniel Combs, a UAB student getting his master’s degree in public administration. His fall internship included working with the planning department on a “one-stop” permit process and helping complete the capital improvement plan. 

“I chose this internship because it’s pretty highly regarded. Sam is sought after,” Combs said.

Other elements of Mountain Brook’s municipal internship include shadowing Gaston, attending board and committee meetings, a ride-along in a police car and special projects like budget requests and research.

Gaston has been able to watch these interns launch careers in city governments around the country, as well as in the private sector.

“Internships let you know if you really want to do this or not,” Gaston said.

Along the way, Gaston and Mountain Brook have garnered a reputation as a top place to intern for local students because of the valuable experiences and connections to be made. Shenicka Hohenkirk, who interned with the city in 2017, said she had heard people speak highly of Gaston before she first met him.

“After that … I was truly blown away from the whole public sector, how he manages the city and his team,” Hohenkirk said.

Her internship experience was hands on, including writing an article for the city newsletter and doing research on ordinances in similar cities to provide recommendations for the city’s own ordinances. She also sat in on meetings about paving and sidewalks, and Hohenkirk said she was startled when the department heads and experts asked for her opinion.

“Not only were they asking, but they were writing it down,” Hohenkirk said.

Gaston said interns often provide fresh eyes and experience that can help the city.

“It surprised me because I’m an intern, in my mind I’m not thinking that I have a say-so,” Hohenkirk said.

A December graduate of Auburn Montgomery, Hohenkirk said she was hoping to participate in the International City/County Management Association Fellowship program to launch her career in public service.

Kevin Helms, now the city manager of Harriman, Tennessee, was one of Mountain Brook’s earliest interns in 1995. He said the hands-on learning outside the classroom showed him different leadership styles and cemented his desire to follow his career path.

Helms said the internship also helped him land a city manager job less than a year after graduating, rather than having to work up from a lower municipal position.

“I don’t think I could have ever been as successful and achieved the things I achieved in that position at such a young age without that hands-on [experience],” Helms said.

“Even today, Sam’s still there as a mentor. When I run into things and feel like I need somebody to talk to, he’s always there.”

City Planner Dana Hazen said she enjoys working with interns because of their energy and new perspective on the city’s work, as well as an extra set of hands to get a project done.

Police Chief Ted Cook said the benefits he saw for the city inspired the police department to create an internship of its own, specifically designed to encourage and guide young people interested in becoming officers.

“It gives all of us a chance to interact with helping the next generation of managers and try to help instill some of the professional values that we use here, that they may use in their professional career,” Gaston said.

“We think it’s a great two-way street.”

“And they teach us how to use our computers,” Hazen joked.