Mayor’s office offers opportunities to University students

Maria C. Serrano/Contributing Writer
news@fiusm.com

The office of Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giménez offers an executive internship program to offer hands-on experience in government work, with the possibility of future employment.

The 15-week internship program allows juniors and seniors to meet County leaders and to have a first-hand look at government.

In fall 2013, 26 University students were recruited. By last spring, the program expanded and offered four additional internships — a total of 30 available spots.

FIU alumni Daniella Romero and Humberto Ocano participated in the program and said it was an immersive and rewarding experience.

“I had the opportunity to explore a completely different realm of work than what I had been studying,” Romero said. “[I] was immersed in a subject matter that I truly loved.”

Students are positioned under a department director and are given workshops and professional mentoring from senior management, as well as projects that match their educational objectives.

Romero was selected to work at the department of Community Information. Some of the tasks she performed involved working on different projects that comprised annual reports, learning about campaign management and marketing procedures, as well as writing a proposal to help bridge two police units to work together.

“The internship experience with Miami-Dade County was probably one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in my undergraduate career,” Romero said.

Romero said that her biggest challenge was time management: juggling between the internship, school, and a part-time job took a lot of focus.

Ocano, on the other hand, selected the Mayor’s office of communication — also known as external affairs.

He was tasked to work on a full marketing campaign for the opening of the Port Miami Tunnel, an analysis of the Hispanic market and its media and first-hand observation of governmental media relations. Unlike Romero, Ocano had more direct contact with the mayor.

According to aid Lee-Ann Dizon, the program’s coordinator, interns learn about what programs and services exist in the County, along with ethics of work, punctuality, project management and presentation skills.

“We teach students about how we do business and touch people’s lives in the County,” Dizon said.

Some of the interns have received job offers to continue their work experience. Upon their  completion of the program, both Romero and Ocano were employed under the support of their fellow mentors.

Dizon said that not only are students impacted by the experience, but so are those at the Office.

“It is always very interesting to watch them grow from where they started in the program being shy, not able to communicate that well until you see them grow as the program passes,” said Dizon.

For more information on the Executive Internship Program visit: http://www.miamidade.gov/mayor/internships.asp

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