Milton and Mane
Welcome to Milton and Mane, the City of Milton, Georgia's official podcast—a dynamic space where community connection meets insightful conversation. Whether you're a resident, local business owner, neighboring government official, or a curious listener from afar, this podcast is your gateway to understanding Milton on every level.
Each episode is designed to bring you closer to the heart of our city, offering behind-the-scenes stories that humanize the people who keep Milton running. You'll gain valuable insights into local government operations, discover new opportunities, and hear from the voices that shape our community. Expect to learn about our rich history, stay updated on future developments, and explore the vibrant arts, culture, and sustainability initiatives that make Milton unique.
Join us as we celebrate our community, encourage civic engagement, and share inspiring stories that resonate beyond our city limits. Subscribe today and be part of the conversation that's building a better Milton, one episode at a time.
Stock Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
Milton and Mane
Beyond an Internship: When learning becomes an experience
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
What does an internship at the City of Milton really look like? It's more than meetings, coffee runs, and checking off assignments.
Host Christy Weeks sits down with Community Outreach Manager Emily Salerno and summer interns Jada Braithwaite and Drew Ghent to reflect on eight weeks of meaningful work, unexpected challenges, and the lessons that shaped their confidence. From developing an operations manual to support Parks and Recreation and CAPRA accreditation efforts to helping build the foundation for a virtual visitors guide and interactive GIS map, they share what it was like to create projects that will continue serving the community long after their internship ended.
Along the way, they talk about adapting to changing priorities, learning to accept feedback, building professional relationships, and discovering that the best solutions come from seeing every project through the eyes of the people who will use it. It's an honest conversation about growth, teamwork, and why local government offers opportunities many students never expect.
With the community in mind, this podcast explores the stories, people, and initiatives that make our community unique. Each episode offers insights into local government, highlights Milton's history and future developments, and showcases the vibrant arts, culture, and sustainability efforts shaping our city. Join the conversation, celebrate our community, and discover how we're building a better Milton together.
Do you have an idea for an episode or would like to request a specific topic to be covered? Email Christy Weeks, christy.weeks@miltonga.gov
Learn more about the City of Milton at www.miltonga.gov.
Welcome And Summer Internship Setup
SPEAKER_03Welcome to Milton and Maine, the official podcast for the city of Milton. We want to bring you closer to the heart of our community through stories that inform, inspire, and connect. Each episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at the people, projects, and priorities shaping Milton, covering everything from local government and future development to arts, culture, sustainability, and public safety. Whether you're a resident, a local business owner, or just curious about our city, this is your front row seat to what makes Milton special. Welcome back to Milton and Maine. I'm your host, Christy Weeks, the communications manager for the City of Milton. Today's episode is one we look forward to every summer because it's all about fresh perspectives. Joining me is Community Outreach Manager Emily Salerno, along with our two summer interns, which you have already met, Jada Braithwaite and Drew Gent. Over the past few months, they've jumped into projects across the city, attended events, learned how local government really works, and probably discovered that there's a lot more happening behind the scenes than most people realize. We'll talk about what surprised them, what challenged them, what they'll take with them, and maybe even a few moments they'd like to forget. It's a fun conversation about growth, public service, and what it looks like to spend a summer at City Hall. So let's get into this. Jada, Drew, Emily, thank you for joining me again. You're so welcome. We're so glad to be here. Yay! Where are we gonna start with this? Because we left off with two interns who had an idea what they thought, didn't know what to expect, came in very bright perspectives,
Intern Expectations Get Shattered
SPEAKER_03very open minds, ready to learn. Where are we today, eight weeks later?
SPEAKER_00I think I came in with very few expectations and as open a mind as I think I possibly could have had. And even those few expectations I did have, I think have been completely shattered. This has been a more formative experience than I think I could have asked for. It has just been very not to be overdramatic. It's been very life-changing for me to be in a professional environment for the first time in a place where my ideas are valued, my voice is heard, I'm challenged by undertaking things that I have never had the experience to work
Building A Parks Ops Manual
SPEAKER_00on or be surrounded by before.
SPEAKER_03Like what? What was something that brought you that challenging moment where you're like, look, never done this?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, Jada and I got the opportunity to work on a really, really cool project with the Parks and Recreation Department, where we were putting together their first iteration of a department operations manual while at the same time hoping that that was something that they could use to get CAPRA accreditation or it's the Commission for Parks and Recreation Agency accreditation down the line. So we're towing this line of like we're charting or we're getting into uncharted territory. There is not an operations manual that we can build off of. We're having to look at all their other jurisdictions, we're having to get inspiration from all these other sources and do something that for the city of Milton hasn't been done before. And it was a challenge to do that while also being like, there are very real ramifications to this. This has to be something that both the public can look at to know, you know, to uphold the transparency of the department, what is going on here. And it has to be a valuable resource for staff to go to to know what are the different policies and procedures that we recognize when undertaking a new process, as well as looking forward to that CAPRA accreditation and hoping that this is a manual that can be used to get us, you know, a distinguishing achievement that would be really, really great for this department to be able to say they've held.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. Holy cow. I have no idea about that one.
SPEAKER_04I know. It's wild because I feel like a lot of the projects that our interns end up doing is kind of that like phase one of the things that not we as staff are scared to do. It's just we're too in the weeds, and the start of doing a project of this size and this magnitude is really overwhelming for us. And so we bring in these interns who are fresh, they have a great perspective, and they can really sit down with it and see it clearly for what it is. And especially since they're not in it every day like we are, they're able to see it from an outsider's perspective too, of what would be the easiest for the public to digest as well.
SPEAKER_03Right.
Creating A Virtual Visitors Guide
SPEAKER_03Data.
SPEAKER_01I mean, Drew had perfectly encapsulated what it was like being here this summer and all of the great work that we've gotten to do. I would say outside of our operations manual, that the virtual visitors guide project that we also worked on was challenging. It didn't seem that way at first, and then it got to be challenging. And then when we finished, we were like, oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_03See, I felt overwhelmed in that first meeting. I was overwhelmed for you guys. I remember sitting there going, Do they know exactly what this is? Because I think so many different aspects of that project were brainstormed in that meeting.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_03And I then you had to filter through.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I think the hardest part about that project was initially, it was so many different things. And then we finally narrowed down what it was. You put in all of this work to accomplish this vision that we had been given. And then when we presented all that information, at first we were told, but like what if we go in this direction? And then it shifted into something completely different. And I think both of us were a little caught off guard because we just like, oh no, like what just happened to the work that we've done over the last month. But then we ended up being able to rein it back into the initial project, which was building the first phases of an interactive map and a virtual pamphlet of all of the restaurants, shops, different kinds of amenities that we have here at the city, and compile them all into a spreadsheet so that we could give that information to GIS to build this toggleable map.
SPEAKER_03That's amazing.
SPEAKER_01I've learned that I really don't like Microsoft Excel as helpful as it can ask you. We do not get along. And that's okay.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's fine. That project was a lesson in so many things. It was really, really cool to see the project evolve over time, even when it maybe diverted from the direction we had been working on or the direction that we expected. But every single meeting, as much information as just got thrown out on the table in each of them was very, very informative. It was an opportunity, an opportunity to kind of practice maybe conflict resolution or communication or, you know, standing up for our own perspective and our voices, while also obviously, you know, balancing professionalism and keeping an open mind and, you know, seeing where the needs, I think, of Milton's residents and of course its visitors with this kind of took the project. That was, I was talking to Emily earlier, actually, about how there was one thing that Mark in Economic Development said to us that really changed my perspective on the project when we had hit a little bit of a frustrating point in it with how much it had been kind of changing and evolving when we had put so much work in. We had hit a little bit of a wall with trying to categorize Milton's businesses into these different buckets and categories to make this map super accessible. And he said, Well, I want you to think about it from the end user perspective, from the perspective of these visitors that are going to be interacting with and using this guide. And it made me realize that this obviously wasn't just a project that we were working on for the sake of having it on the website. It was because there was a demand for it. This is going to fulfill a need. And it was very important that we approach and continue to think about the project from the perspective of those that it's aiming to serve. And that ended up being like very much
Designing For The End User
SPEAKER_00a guiding point for us as we completed kind of our phase of the project.
SPEAKER_03Right on. And that's the funny thing, is because when you get project oriented and you're knee deep in it, it's very easy to look at it from your own perspective because you're organizing it from the inside from our side as how we're presenting to the outside, right? When in actuality you have to switch the perspective and go, okay, if somebody's looking for this, where would they look? And what makes sense to a visitor or a resident who's pr looking for something particular, and what makes sense on maybe how we have it categorized internally, can be not always completely opposite. So we're having to do that with website stuff. How are we going to approach this that makes sense for not just us because we know how we organize it? How are we going to make it easier for the residents or for somebody looking up information about Milton? So very, very valuable lesson right there. And the funny that you said something in your sentence that said you learned the communication piece of it and to stand up for your own beliefs and and where you're standing and your voice in within a project. And that's really amazing coming from young people because sometimes us older people don't learn that until much later on because we did not have the same experience as coming out of college or out of high school or whatever that gave us that ability to say, no, no, this is what I'm thinking, because it was always, you know, look up to your boss, you know, rely on this. There was a hierarchy. So kudos to you guys for actually acknowledging that and knowing that you do bring value from your perspective. And us old people rely on it for fresh ideas. Right, Emily. Although you're not quite there yet, you're still a whippers snapper.
SPEAKER_04I mean, I'm I'm there, I'm kind of in the middle, but yes, it's accurate. Cause I think when we first started out, kind of that same process of, you know, respect your elders. They've been doing this longer than you have, but the they've been doing this longer than you have sometimes ends up being bad for you. And I do it too. I've been doing events for so long that I'm so in it that when somebody comes to me with a new idea that's better, I'm like, that's not right.
SPEAKER_03We can't do it that way, but that would be efficient.
SPEAKER_00Well, and it's it's actually kind of fascinating. This feels very full circle with some of the stuff that you were talking about last time we met. We were talking about something that sets Gen Z apart, and you said that you were kind of fascinated with the way that we weren't yes men. And I think that was something that I had not really thought of until you mentioned it, and it was something that I think we absolutely experienced. But it's not something that I think we just took kind of upon ourselves to do. We were definitely enabled by the people that we collaborated with to do that. It was because we were approaching people who were open to hearing our fresh perspectives and were interested in what we had to provide that I think we felt so confident with standing up and saying, you know, hey, I respect the way that things have been done, or I respect your vision.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_00But what if this or how about that?
SPEAKER_03Those what ifs are are quite amazing. And I will say that about the Milton staff and our directors and leadership is everybody is very, very good at listening and absorbing that information and taking it into consideration. So we're lucky on on that side of things.
SPEAKER_04I agree. I think they're also we definitely feel very empowered here to have our voice and be able to kind of speak up and feel like we're subject matter experts in certain things.
Finding Your Voice At Work
SPEAKER_04Some of us speak up when we shouldn't. But you know, that is what it is. Like me or not, of course. But you know, I mean, I think it's important that and we wanted to make sure that our interns felt the same way. Correct. There are so many internships out there that you are doing kind of like we were talking about earlier, the grunt work, you're doing kind of the things that nobody else wants to do. You're mailing things and raining weather, you're delivering things that you don't necessarily need to. You're getting coffee for the 16th time.
SPEAKER_02Who got coffee?
SPEAKER_04Nobody. Well, I think I got coffee one time, but it was because they asked me.
SPEAKER_03I was gonna say. So it doesn't count. Where was I that day?
SPEAKER_04It doesn't count. But we wanted to make sure that our interns felt valued. And I mean, selfishly for us, it's giving us fresh I feel like I'm gonna say fresh perspective like a million times in this, but a new perspective on what things could look like, how processes work. Like it's huge asset, I think, for both us as well as our interns.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I agree. I agree because we we have a tendency sometimes, as as like Emily said, to kind of go, well, that's not how I do it. And I may be guilty of that on certain aspects, but it's fun to listen to you guys. And you guys were also really good at asking questions. And there's value
Asking For Help Without Shame
SPEAKER_03in that as well.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I feel like something that I've had trouble with just kind of my whole life. I'm extremely independent. I hate asking for help. I'm just the type of person who, if something needs to get done, I like to do it myself.
SPEAKER_03But in being I will tell you that's not gonna serve you later in life to get tired of doing it all.
SPEAKER_01Yes. And throughout college, I've gotten a little bit better about that. Going to a smaller university where I'm able to have a stronger connection with professors rather than just like seeing my face and then not being able to recognize me has helped in that regard. But specifically being here, I think coming into this internship, I kind of like Drew, didn't really know what to expect. But kind of as Emily hit on, it was not a coffee internship whatsoever. We were actually working on projects and having the chance to do things that will make an impact on the city in some way. And in doing that, like I've had to ask for help because you're not gonna gain anything if you're just gonna sit there and hit a brick wall and be like, well, this has all the work I can do. I mean, with that operations manual, we'll probably talk about it a lot because I think that was the biggest beast of a project for us. But at the very beginning of it, we thought we knew what we were doing, and then we very quickly were like, oh, wait a minute. What is the goal here? And while I think it was, at least for me, kind of humbling to have to go to Tom and be like, hey, so like we've had this project for like a week or two and we have no idea what we're doing. That was hard, but he applauded us for coming to him and was like, I'm glad that you guys are asking me for help because how are you supposed to make any progress if you don't know what you're doing? And right, while that was difficult, it was extremely helpful. And I feel like I was able to carry that through every project that I worked on this summer and the ones we worked on together.
SPEAKER_03So that's amazing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. For the record, we did actually get coffee once, but it was one time. Semantics, semantics. One time. No, and I I think what Jada and I found was there was not a single project that ended up on our docket where we weren't ready to jump in like right after our download meeting. And I think that served us very well a lot of the time because no project kind of got forgotten about. There was never a project that I felt like we had to be kind of nagged for progress on because we were super excited to get into all these different departments and all these different perspectives. But I do think maybe backfired is a strong word, but I do think that maybe hurt us a little more at the beginning of the Capra, the operations manual project, when we jumped in on something we didn't fully quite comprehend yet. I know I personally was maybe, especially that was like one of our first projects we got. I was a little embarrassed about being perceived as maybe not competent or capable. I didn't want to come in here and just prove to everyone else in the office that, you know, oh, I'm just an intern. Oh, you know, like I'm I'm a subordinate for a reason. I came in here feeling like not I had something to prove, but that I did really have this sense of value that I wanted to impart. So it was tough when we jumped into this project and then quickly figured out we were just a little in over our heads. There were just some mechanisms we didn't quite understand. We didn't really have a great idea of maybe what our goal was. And I agree, I think humbling is a really great word, but we were only able to make the kind of like insurmountable progress that we eventually did because we kind of took a second, we took a breath, we swallowed our pride, and we said, like, hey, I don't know what I'm doing. And we got a little help. We got Michaela on the project, which was a massive help.
SPEAKER_02The Swiss Army knife. Always. Yep.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And she she was just a super invaluable resource. And we just got a little bit of a better idea. We had like probably a 30-minute conversation about say so, like what's the actual goal here? What do we want? And that's how the the table of contents for the ops manual was born. And I think when we figured that out, when we had that vision, that was when we really, you know, we jumped in and we never looked back.
SPEAKER_03Wow. A lot of big lessons there pretty early on. I I mean, I'm proud of you guys because that's tough. And it's hard to walk into a professional setting and go, yeah, I don't know. But one thing that is going to serve you later is A, you recognize that and you recognize the value of actually voicing that. But walking into a situation, a professional setting or whatever it may be, and even though you don't know, trying to prove that you do know, that draws not a negative attention, but it doesn't always sit well with people who are like, okay, I I know where you came from, I know how much experience you have, I know what your previous job is. That is not where we are today. And so that's hard, that's hard for older people with very developed careers. So you guys learning that and getting to experience it and coming out with a great experience on the other end of it is fabulous for you. And that will serve you the rest of your life.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think we learned that there's a lot of, I mean, as as much, if not more, value in learning than there is in knowing. I used I think a lot of what I've gained through my time at Georgia in this position, but you know, there are some things that a classroom can't teach you, and so much that I learned that I'll carry with me as I go into my last year of studies and and my professional kind of career beyond that, that this opportunity afforded me that you can't really get anywhere else.
SPEAKER_03If there's something that I have learned for absolute sure at my age, is that I know a lot less than I ever thought I did. I know that now. You know what I mean? You kind of start to realize how much you don't know and how much world is out there, how many experiences are out there, how many different perspectives, and there's that word again. And walking in somebody else's shoes for a little while, that's a huge deal. And for somebody to go, oh, I know how you feel, actually, you probably don't. So when I have conversations, I kind of really process that. And I can't remember at which point in my life that happened, but I try not to go, oh yeah, I know how you feel, especially in a situation that I've never been in. So you kind of start to hear the phrases that we're all used to saying, but until you start to really evaluate them and go, okay, do I really know how they feel? Do I really understand? Or am I just saying that because that's the standard issue phrase to say to somebody? So there's Christy's life lesson. Not that anybody asked for it, but I'm gonna share it anyway because I do that. Emily, what do you have to say about any of this?
SPEAKER_04I feel like the beauty of being an intern, especially, is that nobody expects you to know respectfully anything. I feel like that's the best part about being an intern is that you can roll in and if if you ask a question, it's completely understandable. But I think it's definitely big. Okay, if you've seen The Office. Oh my God, I still haven't watched it. Okay. So one of my favorite episodes is when Oscar is trying to explain to Michael what a surplus is. And he genuinely has no idea what a surplus is, and that there's a certain amount of money they have to spend by the end of the day. And so Michael Scott goes, okay, explain it to me like I'm seven. And so he does in this lemonade stand version of it. And then he still isn't getting it. So he goes, explain it to me like I'm five. And then Oscar continues to explain it and never gets frustrated with him and just continues to explain it slowly but surely. And I feel like that's something that I've carried with me is that no one's gonna get mad at you for asking.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_04Unless you finish the project and then you ask the question, in which case we just order of operations
Career Conversations And Big Advice
SPEAKER_04did not go well. On the note of learning, one thing that we did introduce this year to the internship is something that we dubbed uh career conversations. Um, and so every week each intern sat down individually because it's difficult. I don't want them to get roped in as the interns. They're two individual people with two individual sets of goals. So we try to give them projects together and separate. But they sat down with a different staff member each week for a super informal 30-minute to an hour-long conversation to just learn about what they do, how it relates to the city, how they got where they are now, um, why they chose government, what they like about government, what they don't like about government. And I feel like this has been kind of a really great addition to the program. And Drew Jada, I feel like you guys have not favorites, because it's difficult to pick a favorite of all the ones that you had, but I feel like there's standouts. Standouts. What pieces of advice did y'all kind of take with you and interesting things that you guys learned from it?
SPEAKER_01Well, I would say that from all of the career conversations that I was able to have, I've been so for some context, just I'm going into my senior year of college and I still don't really know exactly what I want to do post grad. And in all of these career conversations, I have found so much clarity in knowing that it is okay to not know one, what you want to do initially, and two, that if it takes you a couple different opportunities or positions or places to be to figure out what career you want to have, that is okay. Like I got to sit down with JC and she shared with me her entire life story. And it was fascinating. She has done so many things in her life that are like vastly different. Or when I sat down with Jen, she is just so incredible in that she's she taught me that like she's just very open to learning all the time. Like her job is constantly researching and finding out all of this new information so that she can be better for the city. But outside of that, I would say that my favorite piece of advice that I've gotten from one of these conversations is when I sat down with Tom and we were talking about like being nervous, about presenting or just kind of nerves in general. And he said to me that he's content with being nervous because nerves mean you care.
SPEAKER_02Correct.
SPEAKER_01And just like even outside of the workplace, I feel like that's always going to stick with me. Just because I never really thought about it that way. Like it's one thing to get nervous, but I never considered really why. And I think that brings a lot of value to things that I'm very passionate about, or when I have just like an opportunity and I'm worried or whatever with it. Like nerves mean you care, that's just really gonna stick with me.
SPEAKER_03That's super valid, and it's true because if I if you don't care about something, you're not gonna care how your presentation goes or exactly or whatever you're doing. If you if you look into the entertainment world, uh you hear a lot of actors, and a lot of actors are introverts and they struggle with being in public, but they can they can act. It's an it's an outlet for them, but they're nervous. They're nervous coming on set. Some of the most trained, experienced ones are, or a musician, or you know, I dealt with pageants for a long time. You know, those girls get so nervous, but you they're putting a lot of work into stuff. So that's probably the coolest thing, yeah, is understanding that nerves do mean you care. Yep. That's awesome. How about you?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, each career conversation was so different and provided some sort of unique insight. It's not just because each individual's role in government is so different, it's just because each person is so different in the perspectives they bring to the table and the background that they've had coming into it. I really enjoyed hearing about a lot of people's journeys who were people who didn't ever necessarily think they were going to end up in the public sector. Tammy Lowett, our city clerk, was in the private sector, very, very successful, doing something completely different from what she does now. But one thing led to another as she started a family and she kind of started to figure out what sort of new challenges she could undertake, and it and it led her here. And she just gave me some really, really good advice on the importance of loyalty and integrity in everything you do. And that was something that obviously I think I was raised with, you know, a sense of what a good moral compass is and why integrity and loyalty is so important, but it's not something that I've ever really consciously thought of as a workplace skill when when you handle some of the things that Tammy does, which require such discretion, loyalty is in the job description. I also really, really liked sitting down with the deputy city manager, Stacy, and she kind of shares this same sort of intellectual curiosity with me. And it was kind of very heartwarming to learn from her that the learning and the discovery doesn't just stop when you finish college. She is constantly kind of engaging in professional development resources and reading all these books she recommended and these podcasts that she loves that she uses to kind of better herself and how she can serve Milton. And I loved that. I can continue
Courtroom Exposure And Networking Wins
SPEAKER_00to learn, and there are so many resources to continue to better yourself, even after the best four years of your life in college. Easily by far, I don't even know if it counts as a career conversation because it was just a couple great days of career experience. Was Emily set up an opportunity for me and Jada to both get to go to the Milton Municipal Court. We both had the opportunity actually to sit with our city solicitor, Kelsey Maddox, as she is meeting with defendants with everything from speeding tickets to city ordinance violations, dogs at large that are biting individuals, and just all these fascinating cases. And we're getting to sit with her as she is speaking with these defendants and she's crafting these plea deals, and she is holding up the legal process as a prosecutor on her back. And we were also given the opportunity to speak with Milton's chief judge, Chief Keith Carnesale. And I had the opportunity to speak with him as well privately and get coffee with him and talk about because he's still a practicing attorney, his law school experience and all that he had to provide. He studied law at Emory, which obviously being close to home is an opportunity that I would be remiss to discount. And then, of course, just I really learned the value of networking as one thing led to another. As Kelsey opened me up to opportunities that she had as a University of Alabama law school graduate, as well as opportunities Chief Carnesale had. His wife is a judge down at Fulton County Superior Court and sent a couple emails to her staff, and they invited me to tour the Fulton County Medical Examiner's office with her staff, and they were just super inviting and provided all sorts of cool opportunities. I am actually gonna go back or hop on a Zoom call, I guess, in August as she presides over a murder trial in Fulton County. And these are opportunities that without this internship, I never would have had. And all it took to launch them was a single conversation.
SPEAKER_03I want to be an intern. Well, you can apply next year. I want to be an intern. There's things I want to be when I grow up. And I mean, I want those conversations. I know. Just out of sheer curiosity. Just because I find people fascinating on how they get where they get. And I know I've mentioned this before. Our IT director. I think it was in our meet where he revealed everything that he had done in his past, and it wasn't IT. But it it eventually became that, and then he he worked for he was cybersecurity work for Homeland Security. He he has this incredible history, and you start going, huh? And like Chief Griffin or Chief Ben Musa, you start looking in. Even our city manager was the chief of police, not only here, but in Albany. There's so many incredible career people in this building in this municipality that you know you don't realize how fortunate you are to be surrounded with people who have experienced things outside of what you would expect. That's the whole never judge a book by its cover.
SPEAKER_04No.
Red White And U Lessons
SPEAKER_04It's like an onion. Everybody's got layers.
SPEAKER_03It's like an onion. Yep, for sure. All right. So, real quick on the Red, White, and U event. Do we have yes and nays and positives and negatives, experiences, things that went well, things that didn't? Drew's hot dog costume.
SPEAKER_02I mean, which is actually my hot dog costume, by the way. I just let him borrow it.
SPEAKER_00I can't tell you.
SPEAKER_02That was kind of you. Not many people share a hot dog costume.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I'm I'm sure after how much I sweat in it, she will not be sharing it anytime soon.
SPEAKER_01To be honest with you, that was my I had another friend that had it before you wore it, so I don't know if it got washed, but like hand me down hot dog.
SPEAKER_04Surprise.
SPEAKER_00Uh thank you for telling me about two months after, or a month after. Rather. Uh but yeah, I think there's so much to say about Red, White, and U. I feel like that's kind of like like a cornerstone or a guiding light of this internship. I think there's very much like a before Red, White, and U and after Red, White, and U. And those two parts of the internship. Well, they look so different and they serve different purposes because before Red, White, and U are balancing kind of all these different projects with this deadline of like, hey, we have to give special attention to this one project because it's happening. There ain't no pushing that back. Like Red, White, and U cannot happen on July 5th. It cannot happen in August. Um, and so I think that provides a very different opportunity than after Red, White, and U, where it's, you know, how many different projects can you balance at once with maybe more flexible deadlines, maybe more opportunity to go back and forth and develop an idea? Red, white, and you is a really cool opportunity to work on quite a strict deadline.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And honestly, like I just feel very protective over Red White and You because I feel like we were given that project on the very first day of our internship. And Emily just said, okay, go. And while she had done so much prep before we got here, we still, as to Drew said, had a deadline to meet and we had all of these things that we needed to accomplish. But Red White and U was a really unique project because we did so many different things that ultimately tied into this one event. I mean, we were able to go and connect with almost all of the different businesses that we have here in Milton. And then we also connected with various departments: police, fire, parks and rec, obviously. We were all over the place trying to meet deadlines for permits and documents and creating graphics to be posted on the social media.
SPEAKER_03She looks at me.
SPEAKER_00All left aligned.
SPEAKER_03I do have quirks. You do.
SPEAKER_00It's good to have standards.
SPEAKER_03My favorite, my favorite was sitting down next to Jada as we're in a meeting. And Jada goes, Oh, I don't know if you want to sit next to me. I go, why? And she goes, Well, because I didn't take a lot of time on the PowerPoint.
SPEAKER_01No, specifically, the nothing was left aligned in the PowerPoint. Not everything I do is left aligned.
SPEAKER_03I'm really trying to open up my horizons. I do center a lot of things. I'm I'm working on it. See, I am a work in process too. So I still learn, and Emily comes to me and goes, Look, I left aligned. And I go to her and I go, Look, I center aligned. You know, got to mix and match. Mix and match.
SPEAKER_00In in Jada's defense, not to get on too much of a tangent from the PowerPoint was fine. Yeah, from Red, White, and U. That was a PowerPoint we had to make for a Crab Apple Fest uh for the vendor selection jury. We initiated this new process where for all of the vendors applying to be part of Crab Apple Fest, we were creating PowerPoint slides to showcase their applications. And I think between all the PowerPoints that we made the two of us in about a month and a half, I would say we created a grand total of I I have the number actually, 667 PowerPoint slides.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so I have no complaints about any of them. So I I am a little flexible. They were useful. Huh? They were useful. It was super you guys did a great job. Everything that I have seen come out of your guys's corner has been excellent. And it's been really fun getting to know you guys and see you guys kind of settle in because you're right. You came in two people a certain way, and you're leaving so much more relaxed and with an immense amount of insight for us. This was beneficial to you guys. You guys have been very clear on that. But for us, it's even better because we get to take the things that you did and the impact that you left and try and keep it going or apply it throughout. And Emily gathers all this information and she has all these great ideas for the next set of interns. So as much as you guys learned, we all we all did as well. So as long as you know that we all appreciate what you guys did and how much effort and redo's and back to the drawing boards and brand new ideas that you handled with such amazing, I want to say grace. I would say that that it's really, really admirable.
SPEAKER_04It is. And it's so easy as young people, and I say this because I did it too, of you receive a lot of constructive. I don't want to use criticism. I feel like that's feedback. So use feedback, constructive feedback. And it's easy to quickly get defensive about it and defend why you did what you did. But you guys were so easy to take any corrections and apply them or on the flip side, not apply them because of a certain reason that makes even more sense. So it's been huge. And I was I feel like I've told everybody this at this point, but you guys quickly crossed into the coworker territory very much so instead of intern territory. And it feels like we're like losing co-workers now, not losing like our interns because the internship ended.
SPEAKER_03Right. So take that with you.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I will say I feel like in this internship, everyone here at the city of Milton has been so welcoming. And to your point, I feel like I have not felt like a I don't want to say traditional intern. That doesn't sound right. Coming into a space where like I have very low expectations. Like everyone else has low expectations for me. They don't know what I'm gonna put out, kind of stuff like that. Like I feel like I was very comfortable very quickly coming into this position, which allowed me and Drew to do genuine quality work that wasn't just something that will get pushed aside once we leave. I feel like we gained so much knowledge in being here, which allowed us to perform so well on these projects and that they actually will be a successful product one day that can be pushed out. And it's just exciting. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Love it. Anyone else got final words for the podcast? Did you guys prep for uh counsel tonight?
SPEAKER_00I mean, it is it is really hard to believe that this is our last day here, and I know that there are, you know, so many skills and experiences that I'm walking out of here carrying that I didn't have before or wasn't tapping into the full potential of before. This is an experience that I think I'm gonna be grateful for for years to come. And I don't care. Emily will see my application in the pile. And I might beg her for an interview just for the opportunity to catch up with her again next year. You got it.
SPEAKER_03Why don't we just bring you back next summer when you guys are back from school and we can do a like DC Fortner said, where are they now?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And we'll love to have you guys back to touch base. I mean, it'd be I think it'd be fun and love to see how your guys' year went because we've we got to witness y'all in action. And I wanna I wanna know how the LSAT goes. I want to know how all the fun things up in Delonega go. I want to see how you guys finish out, you know, a year and and stay in touch. It's I'm losing children. I know. That's how I've been children. Yeah. I already did that three times. You guys are killing me.
SPEAKER_04Sorry.
SPEAKER_03Anyone else? Final words?
SPEAKER_04I'll let to say is we'll miss you guys. You've done exceptional work this summer, and I've been a great set of interns, and I can't say enough good things and let me know when y'all need letters of recommendation.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. For sure. You gotta you got a building full of them. Building full of them.
Final Reflections And How To Apply
SPEAKER_03All right, everybody. It's always rewarding to hear how much can happen in just a summer. I mean, this was literally eight weeks, right? So we appreciate everything you contributed to the city of Milton. We're excited to see where your careers take you next. School careers, professional careers, all the things. We have a feeling and we just mentioned it that this won't be the last time we hear your names. So thank you all for listening to Milton and Maine. Thank you to Jada, Drew, Emily for joining me today and sharing these experiences. And for anybody looking for an internship next summer, stay tuned. They'll be releasing uh when do applications open January.
SPEAKER_04End of January.
SPEAKER_03End of January. Put it on your calendar. Thanks to everybody for listening to Milton and Maine. If you enjoyed today's conversation, be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcast so you never miss an episode. You can also learn more about the city of Milton, upcoming events, career opportunities, and so much more at Miltonga.gov. I'm Christy Weeks. Thanks for spending a little time with us today, and we'll see you next time on Milton and Maine. Thanks for listening to Milton and Maine. We hope this episode gave you fresh insights into what makes our city so special. Stay connected and don't miss an episode by subscribing to this podcast on your favorite platform and following us on social media for all updates. And of course, if you want to learn more about the city, visit us online at www.miltonga.gov for resources, news, and upcoming events. Until next time, thanks for being part of the conversation, and we'll see you on the next Milton and Maine.