Victoria Crawford flourishes in internship with International Economic Development Council

作者:奥德丽安娜·王尔德

从 本科研究学者 to 公共管理硕士(MPA) 他是newbb电子平台的学生 沃伊诺维奇学校 of Leadership 和 Public Service, Victoria Crawford has exp和ed her horizons from newbb电子平台’s campus to the Washington D.C. 城市的天际线. 随着 2023杰弗里A. Finkle newbb电子平台 Economic Development Intern 与 International Economic Development Council (IEDC), Crawford had the opportunity to delve deeper into her passion for economic development 和 international relations 和 pair the two while gaining h和s-on experience.

As an undergraduate student, Crawford’s role as a 沃伊诺维奇 Research Scholar entailed working on 经济发展措施. It was through this work, along with her coursework for her B.A. 政治学, 战争与和平研究证书 和 《newbb电子》, that Crawford was drawn into public service 和 learned about the opportunity to intern at IEDC through the help of Dr. 杰森·乔利， MPA项目主任、教授. 当她准备搬到D.C. 夏天的一个月, she looked forward to exploring the intersection of her interests in a professional setting.

“It definitely exceeded my expectations in the sense that I have been able to connect with other economic developers that come from diverse backgrounds,克劳福德说. “Just getting to meet people 和 hear their stories 和 network was really helpful.”

After invaluable time spent in the nation’s capital, the remainder of Crawford’s internship was online, so she headed home to continue working on her research 和 writing.

Navigating a hybrid-style internship presented its challenges, 然而, 克劳福德利用了 杰夫Finkle, the 沃伊诺维奇学校's Appalachian New Economy 合作伙伴hip Fellow. Crawford remarked Finkle’s wealth of experience, leadership 和 expertise in the economic development field was monumental in assisting her as she worked to complete her internship experience, 他自始至终都激励着她.

“It was a challenge going from being in the office in D.C. to working from home because I think that motivation factor can be kind of hard,克劳福德说. “But I think the way that IEDC had it structured, 和人们开会, I didn’t feel like I was going at it alone online. I was always interacting with someone, so it felt like I was in the office still, just online.”

During the span of Crawford’s internship, she was responsible for assembling large-scale research reports at a fast pace. Eager to improve her writing skills to keep up with her workload, Crawford soon learned how to be concise yet effective in her communications.

Looking back, she was thankful for the 沃伊诺维奇学校’s economic development team, namely 克拉拉骨他是高级项目经理. 乔利, for the assignments they entrusted her with as a scholar, which greatly prepared her for work with IEDC.

Not only has Crawford been able to exp和 her research skills throughout her internship, she has had the chance to get involved in several exciting projects that align with her passion for public service.

“I worked on a few different projects,克劳福德说. “One was the equity impact investments curriculum, which is a curriculum that will be delivered to economic development professionals looking to create partnerships with community-based organizations.”

Looking to the future, Crawford hopes to return to D.C. 完成学位后. 现在, she will continue to develop her leadership skills in her master’s program while she builds upon the valuable connections she has made through the 沃伊诺维奇学校. For incoming 沃伊诺维奇 scholars 和 students, Crawford noted these connections are what she has found to be the key to success, 在教室里, 无论是实习还是其他方面.

“Talk to professors, they have a wealth of knowledge to give,克劳福德说. “That's part of the reason why they're there, is to teach 和 help you get connected to other people.”