Change is coming
My first week back in the office after California has been a blur. I’m not sure if it’s jet lag or just continued exhaustion but almost everything has blended together making me unsure of my days. What I do know is that coming back from my fellowship training, something in me changed. I’m not sure how much of it has to do with the simple fact that for four spectacular days I was surrounded by a group of like-minded, individually amazing college students, but I do know that meeting them all has changed my life.
The day before I left was an EDC board meeting where I had the chance to briefly present a quick run down of some survey results the EDC conducted of the retail industry in the county with the VP. It was an interesting opportunity to stand before the Board members and answer some of their questions about the data. What was also really amazing was the great feedback I got after the meeting about my presence and professionalism, even though at some point during the meeting they were down-talking millennials and our work ethic 🙂 It’s always nice to know that my peers and I are working to debunk those kinds of generalizations and stereotypes about our age group. After the meeting Dianne formally announced that she would be retiring in February and put out a statement that following Friday. She has been so integral to the development work here in Chatham and it’s amazing to hear just how involved she has been in all these different organizations and bodies around the County.
This week I’ve been working on compiling a database of all the economic development organizations across the state by county and also by Region; I must say it’s interesting to see the wide array of websites and their quality and to note which counties have a strong social media presence and which do not. With my week-long absence in the office due to the Fellowship training I had to push back my last day in the office but now it also coincides with the other intern’s last day so it’ll be a bittersweet day here in the EDC when that day comes.
I’ve got two more weeks with the EDC so two more posts from me until my summer internship will be over and I’ll begin my final year working towards my MPA!
