InTucker Magazine

My Summer in Tucker

This summer, I interned for the City of Tucker working directly for Assistant City Manager John McHenry and assisting other departments. This opportunity was especially important to me because I live and grew up in this area and have so many good memories associated with it. Over the past few weeks, I have gotten to know many of the people that care for Tucker by working within the government.

The best thing about my time with the City was encountering others, virtually or safely in person. Working for John McHenry, I attended various meetings with people in economic development around DeKalb County and Georgia. I tagged along while John met with businesses in the industrial corridor for his August article (masked and socially distanced), and I went out into the community to help with some mask deliveries. However, I also got to see what other departments do for the City. A highlight was assisting the communications team with one of my favorite Tucker traditions, the July 3rd Fireworks Celebration. Whether I was a member of a hundred person “Zoom” audience or in a personal conversation, I learned from everyone I came across.

I think we all can agree that this summer was different. But what stayed the same, or arguably increased, was how much your – and my – city’s staff worked to assure that we were safe, happy, and healthy. Overall, this summer job proved to be much more than an “easy commute.” I can’t wait to look around each time I come home and see just how much this place has changed for the better because of these exceptional people.

Georgia Brieske
Junior, University of Georgia

My name is Harris Jamal and I am a recent Master of Public Health graduate from the University of Georgia. This summer I have had the fortunate opportunity to work at the City of Tucker as a Public Health and Sustainability Intern. For most of the summer, I have been working on public health initiatives surrounding COVID-19 data and response. So far, I have worked on communicating with state level public health departments on streamlining guidance to long-term care facilities, created a survey to assess social distancing and mask usage in different areas of Tucker, and am currently working on a data dashboard for the City. I will also be working on several sustainability related initiatives regarding land use. My experience so far has been fascinating to say the least, as I am extremely interested in the “hidden” world of local government and policy, especially since I grew up here. As an advocate for community health, I believe that actions taken on a local level are not only more efficacious, but have the potential to change the way we approach health issues as a whole. That being said, I am excited to keep applying my public health knowledge and research experiences to do such impactful work and be a better servant to my community.

Harris Jamal
Graduate, University of Georgia

My name is Jackson Gibbs and I am a senior outdoor leadership student at Young Harris College. This summer, I had the opportunity to intern for the City of Tucker in their Parks and Recreation department. The goal of my internship was to gain experience working in outdoor recreation, as well as in program management and promotion. During my time, I was able to work closely with the Director of Parks and Recreation, Rip Robertson, as well as Recreation Leader Crystal Dawson. Their collective knowledge and experience in the department helped me to gain a better understanding of what managing city parks and programs is like.

Throughout the summer, I worked with Crystal to develop a new set of programs to offer to the public. We called it the Family Camping Series. The objective of these programs was to provide a backcountry experience to participants that would take place close to home. This program series offered activities such as nature hikes, cooking, fire making, and even an overnight camping experience. Having experience in planning, promoting and executing these programs was the largest benefit I got from my internship. One thing that I did not expect to gain from my internship was the knowledge that I gained in park management and construction. I was given the opportunity to watch the City approve construction projects and bids to improve their parks and facilities. My time interning for the City of Tucker has been one of the best experiences of my academic career and I would recommend that other students apply for internships as well.

Jackson Gibbs
Senior, Young Harris College

This summer I had the amazing opportunity to work as an intern for my hometown of Tucker alongside City Engineer Ken Hildebrandt. During this internship, I worked on a wide variety of projects ranging from analyzing the City’s stormwater infrastructure to coordinating with MARTA to install bus shelters.

My favorite project, however, was the designing of sidewalks along Lynburn Drive and Cowan Road. One of the biggest draws of the civil engineering field for me is being able to see your work materialize and I can’t wait to see the finished sidewalks once their construction has been completed.

This was just one of the many highlights of the internship for me. I was able to experience the City’s transition into its brand-new City Hall. Also, as an aspiring transportation engineer, I enjoyed the opportunity to read through traffic and intersection studies that had been conducted for the City. Perhaps the biggest highlight of this internship for me was that all of the work seemed especially meaningful because the projects pertained to the City I have been happy to call home. For example, researching the dams at Henderson and Kelley Cofer Parks was particularly interesting, since these are parks I have spent a lot of time at throughout my life. I have also come to appreciate all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into running a city that you would never expect, and an engineering career in the public sector is something I am now strongly considering.

Aaron Weil
Senior, Georgia Tech