Nathan Fuerst recently completed an internship with the City of Jordan. This is what he had to say about the experience:
Interning with Jordan has proven to be a very wise decision for my planning career. Before entering the position, I had little planning experience with a degree in Environmental Science and Policy. While I was not well versed in the administrative or economic development sides of planning, I was prepared to learn as much as possible and contribute wherever I could. As luck would have it, I was immediately able to help Jordan leapfrog from Step 1 to Step 3 status in the Minnesota GreenStep cities program.
As I began to focus more on economic development it became clear that Jordan’s sustainability efforts had much in common with economic development. “Buy local” campaigns and efforts to maintain a vital downtown work towards both economic and ecological ends. This internship has left me with an understanding of how to be a part of an effective planning department and the role that planning plays in economic development. I was very fortunate to be introduced to the economic development side of
planning and look forward to using this knowledge to reach my future career goals.
