Akua Opoku recently completed an internship with the City of Shoreview. This is what she had to say about the experience:
My internship with the City of Shoreview has been a great extension of my knowledge and understanding of community and economic development. Through this internship I gained experience working with a suburban community with its own unique demographic. My time at Shoreview has allowed me to expand my understanding of community engagement and development through three particular projects below.
This experience afforded me the opportunity to engage and work with a completely different Business Retention & Expansion (BRE) Program from my former internship. Gaining additional experience with a BRE Program, I was able to sharpen my outreach and marketing skills through direct door-to-door business visits and planning business networking events. Not only was I able to build on my knowledge of working with BRE Programs, I was able to be a lead BizRecycling outreach liaison for Shoreview. In order to promote this county-wide sustainability program, my main responsibility was to develop the overall city outreach strategy which included planning informational events and direct business visits.
Unique to my time at Shoreview, I was able to co-create a fair housing policy for the city. Alongside with the City Planner, we created a fair housing policy that ensures fairness, access, and commitment to current and future residents of the city. This particular experience gave me a chance to apply my graduate degree of Public Policy into a professional setting, creating a policy that will impact individuals’ access to resources. This experience highlighted the interconnectedness of local and county government to support communities of all kinds. My time at Shoreview has crystalized my dedication to enhancing communities near and far.
