My name is James McClean. I am a second year law student and an intern in the City Manager’s office. I went to high school in St. Anthony Village and currently live in Fridley.
Before starting my internship at the beginning of June, I had little exposure to the Southwest Metro area. Since beginning this internship, I’ve discovered that Eden Prairie is a beautiful city. Despite the distance from my home, high gas prices, and some terrible traffic, I always look forward to heading to work in the morning. Not only is Eden Prairie nice to look at, everyone I’ve met so far, from city staff to council members to residents, has been incredibly welcoming and encouraging.
In addition to the nice place and nice people, it helps that I truly enjoy the job itself. I should say internship rather than job because it is as much about the learning experience as it is the work experience and paycheck. I am fortunate that Scott Neal takes that learning aspect of internships very seriously. I am not stuck behind my desk all day doing data entry. Part of my job is to do specific research on projects that Scott and other staff members are working on or basically help out in any way I can. If that involves doing some data entry, I’m happy to do that, but the other part of my job is to learn everything I can about all the operations that go into maintaining a city of this quality on a day to day basis. And that involves A LOT.
After working here for a little over a month and a half, I’ve been to council meetings, met the mayor and all the council members, shook hands with the governor, met with high level executives of local businesses, and the superintendent of the school district. I’ve been on two police ride-alongs, sat in court with the city prosecutor, and toured the water treatment facility, the community center, all the city liquor stores, and many of the city’s great parks, just to name a few of the interesting people and places I’ve encountered so far. I can honestly say that I learn something new everyday, and most days it’s a lot more than one thing. Every city staff member I’ve had the opportunity to interact with, from department directors to police officers to administrative assistants, have all, despite busy schedules, been incredibly patient with me and seem genuinely enthusiastic about what they do and eager to answer all my questions and then some. If nothing else, I’ve learned that the city is in good hands.
What I find to be the greatest draw to working at the local government level is that you get to see the tangible effects of the work you do on a daily basis, whether it is beautiful parks, safe streets, or clean water coming out of the faucet. I’m just an intern and still have a lot to learn, but I hope by the end of my time here I am able to contribute something that makes the city even better than when I began, even if it is just helping a single resident with a problem, or making a small contribution to a major city wide project. I hope I can give back to the city at least a fraction of the value I have already gained in experience.
