Summer In The City Interns

Coordinator

Emily Norris
[email protected]
(865) 215-3524

400 Main St., Room 691
Knoxville, TN 37902

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2023 INFORMATION



Summer in the CityThe City of Knoxville's Summer in the City Intern Program is a paid 8 week summer internship for applicants who are between 16 and 22 years of age. We hope to place 20 applicants for 30 hours per week for 8 weeks in the summer of 2023. 

Interns will be placed in City departments and assigned various administrative and support tasks, while also participating in weekly personal and professional development sessions on topics such as financial literacy, mental health, motivation & team work, communications, and social justice. The weekly commitment for interns will be 30 hours per week, which includes participating in two community service projects.

Each intern will be assigned to a department with a supervisor / mentor in that department. The supervisor / mentor will orient the intern to the department, train them on responsibilities, oversee their work, and meet with the intern on a weekly basis to provide instructional feedback.

* Each intern must provide their own transportation to and from their worksite*


The weekly schedule for interns will be:

• Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Department Placement
• Friday -  Professional & Personal Development - Public Works Building
• Lunch Break at 12 p.m. Daily


HOW TO APPLY



1. Read through available department placement descriptions below.

2. Fill out the Online Application.
Deadline to apply is 11:59 p.m. on April 23, 2023.

3. Submit 2 letters of recommendation
with your application. These recommendation letters should come from someone (other than your parents) who can attest to your work ethic, your academic accomplishments, your involvement in the community, and your career ambitions. You must submit the letters of recommendation with your application.

4. Submit answers to the three video interview questions at https://flip.com/e6f747ab.

After submitting the Online Application, make sure and return your recommendation letters to Emily Norris at [email protected] or mail to the following address:

The City of Knoxville
Summer in the City Internship Program

400 Main St., Suite 691
Knoxville, TN 37902



IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER



Date Description
Mar. 15-Apr. 23, 2023 Application Period (application and transcript must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on April 23, 2023)
May 12, 2023 Announcement of selected interns
May 19, 2023 Deadline for selected interns to accept internship
June 1–July 28, 2023 Intern Program work period
June 1, 2023 Intern’s City and Department Orientation
June 2, 2023 Intern’s First Friday Connect - Public Works Building
TBA Community Service Day
TBA Community Service Day
July 28, 2023 End of the Internship Presentation


AVAILABLE DEPARTMENT PLACEMENTS



City Department Intern Role Description
311 An intern placed in 311 will be working with the City's ChatBot and Survey Monkey. They should have a strong interest in communications, and will be working to expand the social media presence of both 311, municipal services, and 211, social services.
Communications An intern interested in working with the Communications department should have strong writing and communications skills, experience with videography or photography and social media tools. The Comms’ intern will be writing blog and social media posts about City projects, including the Summer in the City internship program and the weekly Kid A' Riffic Fun in the Park event for Knoxville youth, which the Comms intern will assist with on Wednesdays.
Community Empowerment - African American Equity Restoration Taskforce The African American Equity Restoration Taskforce would benefit from having an intern that can assist in research, data analysis, and event planning. It would be a great asset if the intern is passionate about equity initiatives and that field of study and it would be great if they were also from East Knoxville!
Community Empowerment - Empower Knox Initiative Empower Knox is the city's youth-focused initiative, providing innovative opportunities for youth to engage in government and support for youth-serving organizations in the community. An intern placed with Empower Knox may assist with designing flyers, creating social media content, supporting the management of Summer in the City program, and providing insight and youth perspective on various projects. Intern should be flexible, creative, be able to work independently, and have an interest in promoting youth engagement with government.  
Community Safety An Intern placed with the Office of Community Safety would need to help with community surveys and assessments related to safety and available resources and services. They would also assist with gathering information from the community, reviewing and compiling data, and assisting in writing reports. Intern might also provide support in collecting and compiling data around street outreach and other violence interruption strategies, and assist with site visits for Summer Opportunity Youth Grant partners. Entry-level research skills are highly desired but not required. Intern should be a strong critical thinker, have strong communication skills, and an interest in community safety.
Disability Services An intern placed with Disability Services will assist with inputting Information and Referral (I&R) requests into a database. They will gather information for I&R's, help to gather / disseminate various information for the Mayor's Council on Disability Issues, organize / file historic files, and other related responsibilities as needed. An ideal intern would be familiar with, or want to learn more about, the disability community in Knoxville, and / or interested in advocating for others.
Employee Benefits / Risk Management An intern with Employee Benefits / Risk Management might help with various administrative tasks essential to the department. Employee Benefits oversees the broad package of benefits offered to eligible employees, which are designed to offer employees opportunities to provide for current and future welfare needs of themselves and eligible family members. Risk management is responsible for the traditional risk areas of liability, work related injuries, and property loss.
Fire Department An intern placed with the Knoxville Fire Department would rotate through their Admin Office, EMS Division, Fire Marshal’s Office, and possibly their training division. They would most likely be doing clerical duties and other office and administrative tasks.
Fleet Services An intern placed with Fleet Services may assist with administrative support and tasks related to city vehicles. The Fleet Service Department maintains the city's fleet of more than 1,400 vehicles and equipment (from squad cars to fire trucks and snow plows) which city employees use to deliver many essential public services.
Human Resources The mission of the Human Resources Department is to provide quality services and support to the City of Knoxville by promoting the concept that employees are the most valuable resource. Services include: Recruitment and retention of qualified individuals, all while recognizing and encouraging the value of diversity in the workplace, Training, development, and education to promote individual success of employees which in turn adds capacity to the city, and more. An intern placed with Human Resources will assist with various administrative tasks, offer a youth perspective, and provide other support within the department.
Information Systems The Information Systems Division provides computer services and support for the various city departments. Information Systems works to keep the city up-to-date in the rapidly changing world of computer technology and applications. An intern placed with IS may assist with administrative duties, technology support, and other IT-related tasks depending skill level. Intern should be good at problem-solving and interested in technology.
KAT Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) is looking for someone who is interested in marketing. Specifically, they would like an intern who is social media savvy and could help create and execute a social media campaign. Their intern would also work on other marketing projects as well.
Knox Planning Knoxville-Knox County Planning's Summer in the City intern will have the opportunity to apply his/her knowledge and skills to a variety of projects related to our work in land use and transportation planning. The student's responsibilities will be tailored to his/her interests and will provide a range of educational opportunities, tasks, and special projects. Educational opportunities will include access to publications and resources that provide insight into the agency's wide range of work, as well as access to meetings with internal and external partners. Previous interns have focused their special project work on research, fee assessments, the creation of a new walking school bus, and planning the agency's involvement in Knoxville's annual Parking Day event.
Neighborhood Empowerment An intern placed with the Office of Neighborhood Empowerment would be helping by answering the phones, and creating their weekly newsletter. This entails writing articles, assembling their Mail Chimp version, printing paper copies, keeping their calendar up to date, and posting to social media. They could also help with other projects as needed, like updating their webpages. If the intern wants to learn how local government works with the community, there will be many opportunities to be a part of public and neighborhood meetings.
Parks and Recreation The Parks and Recreation Department offers a wide variety of activities for each member of the family to enjoy. One of the main goals for the department is to improve recreation opportunities for all Knoxvillians through recreation centers, greenway trails, and parks. An intern placed with Parks and Rec will assist with administrative duties and programming support.
Police Advisory and Review Committee The mission of PARC is to provide community members with a civilian oversight committee that audits the discipline process, policies, and procedures of the Knoxville Police Department. Their purpose is to strengthen the relationship between community members and KPD by providing a timely, fair, and objective review of community complaints. An intern with PARC will assist with various administrative and community engagement tasks.
Police Department The mission of the Knoxville Police Department is to safeguard the public and prevent crime. An intern placed with KPD will assist with administrative tasks as well as provide support at Safety City and have the opportunity to complete trainings including a tour of the Forensic Center.
Public Service A Public Service intern must be willing to work outside each day. They will spend time in each of their areas: Construction, Facilities, the Service Areas, Urban Forestry, Horticulture, and their Warehouse. They will supply work boots, gloves, and any other safety equipment required. The intern does not need any special skills coming in to the program as they will teach them and give them hands on experience. Some of the jobs they may be asked to do are: assist Facilities department with repairs, trimming and pruning shrubs with Horticulture crew, inventory items at the Warehouse, and help Service Area Central crew set up and assist Special Events with different events this summer, such as the weekly Kid A’Riffic program. They will also get to see heavy equipment in action and receive some basic instruction on how the equipment operates.
Sustainability The Office of Sustainability manages Knoxville's progress towards climate, energy, and environmental goals. Our staff monitors building performance, installs electric vehicle chargers, manages data and global reporting requirements, and provides research support to implement policies and programs across the City. Our Summer in the City intern will directly support the Sustainability Coordinator by processing complex datasets, researching sustainability topics, generating communications content, and more. Candidates should be able to: work on a computer in an office environment all day; work extensively in Microsoft Excel/Word; use critical thinking to conduct research and resolve data problems; communicate effectively; and produce detailed, accurate work.



MORE INFORMATION



For more information about the Summer in the City program, please contact Emily Norris at 865-215-3524 or [email protected].