Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors recognizes summer interns for public-service work

At a meeting of the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors, the board publicly recognized 16 college interns selected from nearly 800 applicants and thanked them for summer work across county departments, including economic development, procurement, public safety and constituent services.

Kimberly Gonzalez, a rising senior at the University of Virginia interning with the county economic development team, spoke on behalf of the intern class and described the projects interns supported. "This summer, I've had the privilege of interning with the Chesterfield Department of Economic Development, and I can honestly say that it has been an incredibly fulfilling experience," Gonzalez said. She listed work that included an outreach plan to better engage Hispanic drone businesses, a social media strategy for small businesses, crash analysis for roundabout design, rail crossing safety audits and visits to more than 200 stores that sell tobacco products to educate owners about displaying signs that they will not sell tobacco to minors.

A county representative told the board the county has sponsored internship programs "since the early 1980s," has hosted roughly 400 interns over the decades and this year received almost 800 applications, welcoming 16 college students on May 26. The board thanked the interns for their contributions and encouraged them to consider returning to county service after graduation. "Y'all actually put in work that has really benefited our citizens," a board member said during board remarks.

The county presenter also publicly thanked human-resources staff Mike Yates and Jamie Key for their work administering the program. The board indicated it will see the interns again later this week and reiterated its openness to future hiring of successful participants.