Ian Ward ’19 Crawfordsville Mayor’s Office– Over the past ten weeks working at the Crawfordsville Mayor’s Office, I have both expanded my understanding of local government, but also have been able to see hands on ways in which government is making quality of life better in Indiana.
To begin with the understanding of government, this experience has allowed me to see, first hand that local government is the heartbeat of local issues, and no matter what the issue, local government is the first place of contact for citizens whether or not that is the correct place to contact or not. Also, I have seen that local government can do the most good in the effect that sometimes we as citizens of a state need a place to hear our concerns as well as have someone in our corner to fix some of the small issues that we face everyday. From attending meeting on economic development and project update meeting regarding the Crawfordsville’s Fusion 54, it is clear that Crawfordsville is on the move, but also is looking into the future.
Another aspect of my internship was one of research and looking to others on how to make Crawfordsville not only more knowledgeable of its past such as locating vacated alleyways in the City of Crawfordsville, but also researching how a groundbreaking space such as the Fusion 54 Co-Working Studio should function on a day-to-day basis. In this research I was able to create sponsorship documentation as well as policy for usage in the new space. This space showcases the fact that although local government governs first, in a new generation government’s job is also to lead a community through new, innovative ways not just simply legislating the normal day, today activities.
Therefore, through this process, I have learned multiple new skills and also had the opportunity to see what local government really does on a day-to-day basis, and am thankful for the opportunity that I have had this summer!
