Ava Weber recently completed an internship with Otter Tail County. This is what they had to say about the experience.
Through my internship with the Otter Tail County Community Development Agency (CDA), I was exposed to a variety of topics related to economic development, including workforce, childcare, broadband, housing, and business development. I had the opportunity to see how the knowledge that I had gained in the classroom and through undergraduate research at the University of Minnesota Morris (UMM) is used in the workplace and more specifically in the field of economic development. My supervisors at the CDA were excellent in taking the time to teach me about their work, bringing me along for a wide range of job shadowing, and giving me opportunities to learn by doing.
Much of my learning had to do with gaining general knowledge of the field of economic development, as well as what the role of a county is in the field. I had the opportunity to attend the EDAM conference, which was a great way to learn about economic development efforts around the state. I learned about the prominent challenges surrounding rural economic development, such as shortages in housing and childcare providers, and in hearing about the strategies developed to address these challenges I was able to see how the CDA takes on the role of filling gaps left by market failures.
Interning with the County also allowed me insight into local government process. I was able to attend an Otter Tail County board meeting, as well as several meetings of the CDA Board and its various committees. This taught me about the workflow used in driving and completing projects at the county level. Also valuable was witnessing the beginning stages and implementation of a new workforce program, and the grant-related processes that go with it.
The CDA has many partners in each area of work, and I had the chance to learn about public-private partnerships by shadowing and doing work for Otter Tail Lakes Country Association (OTLCA), which is a regional non-profit marketing and economic development organization that works with the county via service agreement. I attended weekly team meetings with the organization and worked on small projects related to membership and website development.
I learned about marketing strategies and communication by creating several newsletters related to workforce, business development, and community development. I gained experience with Adobe graphic design tools, which I had not previously worked with, and used these tools to create multiple infographics. Related to communication, I also had the opportunity to write blogs for the OTLCA website. Through research, I learned about funding sources and business resources, then worked to create a summary of the available resources, funding, and training to then be distributed to individuals and businesses as part of the CDA’s business development strategy.
My supervisors gave me many opportunities to utilize the data collection and analysis skills I gained at UMM, as well as learn new tools such as Google Analytics. I employed these skills to analyze usage of OTLCA’s jobs portal, which aggregates job openings in Otter Tail County to a feed on their website. The data I collected was then used to make an informed decision about the continuation of the jobs portal. Another data related task was to compare cost of living and other key development metrics for Otter Tail County and its peer counties in EDR 4. With these projects, I was able to dive into the resources and data provided by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and the U.S. Census Bureau, as well as some other public data sources.
Related to workforce, I learned about the resident recruitment efforts of the county and others in the field. Working with OTLCA, Otter Tail County has engaged in a recruitment strategy called “talent tourism,” which operates on the idea that the reasons people visit a place are the same as the reasons they would want to live and work there. I had the opportunity to take part in a tour of a primary employer in the county while participating in one of the events that took place under the umbrella of talent tourism. Towards the end of my internship, I gained experience with grant writing by drafting a grant application for one of the resident recruitment programs.
I found incredible value in my time with the Otter Tail County CDA. I gained knowledge and experience that would serve me well in any future job, and even better in a position related to economic development. I ended my summer having a better idea of what types of work I could see myself pursuing and feeling more prepared to finish my time at UMM and take the next steps in beginning a career.