BY HANNAH JONES, senior

My name is Hannah Jones, and I am the planning intern for the City of Shelbyville, Indiana. I work with BSU planning alumnus Adam Rude, director of the department. The City of Shelbyville is rapidly growing and is undergoing many great changes, from an influx of new housing to redeveloping the town center.

This summer, I worked on updating the city’s online portal for submitting code violations, registrations, and permits. This project included designing icons and layouts of pages, as well as working with a computer programmer. The website is now more user friendly and easy to read. Additionally, I worked on preparing meeting materials, reorganizing the filing system, creating pamphlets, and other necessary tasks.

After graduation in December, I will become a staff planner for the City of Shelbyville! I will be tasked with long-range planning projects, beginning a community art foundation, and other projects to improve the city.

This internship has allowed me to experience real public planning and apply my skills to real projects, which will give me a great head start when beginning my career!

Each summer urban planning students embark on internships, gaining experience in that “real world” they’ve heard so much about. It’s a win-win situation as the interns provide energy and extra hands on the job for their bosses while gaining valuable skills. Internship supervisors last year rated our students “above average” or “excellent” in each of a dozen categories and assigned a 7.1 rating out of a possible 8 points. Send us a note at planning@bsu.edu if your organization could benefit from a planning intern!