Each semester, AE hires at least two interns to provide students with direct experience in the field of economic development as well gain knowledge of working in a professional, team environment. Interns work directly with our Project Managers and staff to complete projects through various tasks, including data collection, best practice research, and data analysis. This fall semester we had the pleasure of working with Aleya Noor, a junior Economics student at the University of Texas. Below is a firsthand account of what she experienced as an AE intern.
My interest in AE was first piqued by the work history and clientele list of the company, most specifically, green companies. I was compelled to apply for the Economic Development Intern position because I saw that the work done at AE was meaningful. In my first day, I quickly began working with government resources to gather data. Now, I am all too familiar with Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau (in a good way!).
My first project at AE was a quick exercise which helped acquaint me with BLS. From my first day I started working to gather data for several different projects with the two most significant being the 2013-2014 Austin, TX Forecast Event and a SWOT analysis of Prince William County, VA, a suburb area to the Washington, D.C. metro.
For the Economic Forecast event I began to read up on current news in Austin, like all of the upcoming development downtown (Did you know that 23 development projects are planned for downtown alone?) and the events leading up-to the recent F1 race, which brought in huge revenue for the city. Prince William County has been an interesting experience because it is the first project I have seen from its commencement. I have gathered data on a variety of economic and demographic data points, including the county’s top industries, employment base, and education infrastructure. From the variety of resources, including county websites and local news articles, I have been able to glean a more holistic view about the process of economic development projects.
Angelou Economics is a great environment to foster growth because the project managers there are very insightful and helpful. My experience at AE has enhanced my understanding on the significance of my education and the importance of working hard. The project managers have been very helpful in giving me advice on my post-undergraduate career and have inspired me to eventually attend graduate school after working for a few years. I will be sad when my time ends at AE, but I will be grateful for the experience because I could not have found a better place to work.
