For students, internships in the private sector can offer a glimpse into a potential career path. That’s equally true for government roles, though the experience often looks a bit different.

Huntsville, Ala., has a successful internship model that other cities might look to for inspiration.

Kenny Anderson, director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, is the city official behind the initiative. His office currently runs the internship program, though that wasn’t always the case.

“I’m a mayoral appointee,” he said. “I serve in the capacity of this office to provide representation for the many residents of our community, to make sure that everyone’s voice is affirmed. And in those instances where a person’s voice needs to be elevated, we try to do that as well.”

The DEI office took over the internship program two years ago, and Anderson began by emphasizing the importance of inclusivity in their approach. Students are enrolled in higher education and come from diverse institutions, so it was important to him to develop an internship program that can be meaningful, substantive, engaging and interactive for everyone.

Another key element is how these temporary roles reflect and touch on all areas of city government.

“We think about the city as one unit,” he said, “but there are 25-plus departments in the city. Everyone should have an opportunity to have access to an internship, an intern, or more opportunities if they’re interested in doing so. We basically put out a call to all department heads and based on whatever responses we get from those departments, we kind of know what we’re working with.”

This year, nearly half of the city’s departments participated, Anderson noted. Somewhere between eight and 10 departments expressing interest. In his words, “that gives us a chance to have representation across the spectrum of our municipality.”

The program traditionally runs during the summer. However, Anderson’s previous background in higher education has challenged him to consider the bigger picture.

“I actually solicit interns year-round,” he said.” The significant change this year was the introduction of paid internships, a first for the city. “We thought it was really important that if we were going to move this process forward, that we request funding for the program. It’s the first year we did that.”

Kentrell Bone, an incoming senior at Jacksonville State University majoring in finance, is among the cohort of students who’ve benefited from exposure to city government.

“You learn how to collaborate and problem-solve in a way where we’re not just directly focusing on issues, but we’re more solution-oriented in our way of thinking,” he said about his time on the job so far.

Bone is currently involved in planning the annual North Alabama Health and Wellness Fair, gaining valuable insights into event planning and community engagement.

Anderson said he’d love to have more students like Bone. Every student represents limitless potential, in his estimation.

“I hope the future will hold more opportunities for more students to experience city government from the inside,” he said.

The internship provides invaluable connections to leaders who can provide insight and opportunities to diverse students with a variety of different majors. Ultimately, the hope is that this exposure will lead some of them to pursue work for municipalities or be involved in municipal work as elected officials or members of boards and commissions.

Anderson highlighted the importance of such civic engagement.

“Being a member of a community involves finding ways to invest in that community that result in a return on investment that benefits all people,” he said.

The program is open to all students, regardless of their major or year in college.

Anderson believes the program’s flexibility and inclusivity are key components of its success. For instance, staff does not necessarily look at area of study when placing students in a certain department. Instead, he wants to keep it open for people to decide “how they want to engage.”

Speaking of engagement, Anderson said the program’s success will come from the positive experiences that people have heard about from interns or first-person accounts.

“We hope that we’ve expanded their ability to succeed, but we don’t necessarily see ourselves as causing their success,” he said. “We just see ourselves as one step in that whole process.”

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