All In a Day's Work...

My day's don't differ to much, yet. I get to work somewhere between 7:00am-8:00am, it kind of depends on what we have on our schedules. I have been invited to attend different meetings and functions with the Intergovernmental Relations staff so sometimes I am required to be at the office earlier to carpool to these different functions if they are elsewhere and require transportation.

I have a small office, way in the back. I know what you are thinking, yeah they put the intern way in the back. Haha not true, as it turns out the Intergovernmental Relations department is in the back end of the building on the second floor. I have a laptop in my office and I first must check my business email to see if I have any new scheduling or articles to read so I can be informed on topics when we attend the different meetings and functions. If I have been giving an assignment I will be working on that until completion.

My boss Leah has me writing letters for Mayor Lewis and these assignments are helpful and also a learning experience. It was tough originally because I never wrote a letter for someone else let alone never meeting the person to understand how they communicate to others. But I gave it my best effort and believe I did well. The week is wrapping up and I hope next week is just as fun and I’m sure more learning opportunities are coming...

It's a Good Thing... [Free Write]

Well this past semester I was in a couple of different classes that has me viewing things in a way, a perspective that is different but should not be ignored. My first semester as ASU I had a professor that I really liked and ended up taking two more classes with her this past semester. These classes were, Federal Indian Policy and Reservation Economic Development.

As I venture in my Public Service Public Policy path I am told how we should view things and given examples of what it what. But I am first a Native American, and a lot of controversial issues come across the table all the time that involve my people or people that are Native Americans like me. So I sometimes come into situations where I hear different situations but for me I view everything with my Native culture background in mind. How will this affect my tribe, or any tribe.

This can possibly lead to problems for me in the long run, but think it is a good thing. Having my culture values with me and thinking of ways to make better decisions for me. Because as I stated before I am trying to learn all these skills that will be valuable to me to use back home with our tribal government. To help my tribe and my people, with government-to-government activity.

Just Another Day... [Free Write]

So upon starting this internship I realized that I will be in a position where I will be around a lot of important people, with that being said I knew I had to step up my business attire game. I have previously worked in an establishment where I was in a managerial position and had to wear suits everyday. But when I left that position to return to school I donated ALL my business attire to people on my reservation to help them have the proper attire for job interviews. It seems I only brought two pairs of dress pants, and two button up long sleeve shirts, one pair of dress shoes, and I am sitting okay with ties with about twelve.

Now I am thinking a clothing fund should be devised. This will be tough, I am a father first, a student, and I work a part-time job. So I don't really have an abundance of funds to just go out and go shopping for business attire. But I know if I want it bad enough I will find a way.

First I started to ask my friends if they can donate dress pants, long sleeve button up shirts, and ties. But soon found out that I am a different size than most of my business working friends. I did get a couple ties from one of my friends from Iowa, and that was cool and appreciated. Next, I had to ask friends to sponsor me, (ask for funding), I just explained my predicament. I didn't realize how much people supported me and only wanted me to do well, but with the help of three of my friends I was able to establish a clothing allowance to be complete and prepared attire wise for the internship.

Therefore, I would not be in this position with out my friends and family. Thanks for your support...

Another Level

This week was my first official week here at the Town of Gilbert, and the learning experience has been phenomenal. I am in the Native American Management Internship (NAMI) and am interning for the Town of Gilbert in the Intergovernmental Relations department. The purpose of the Intergovernmental Relations is to develop, represent and advocate the interests of the Town of Gilbert to the benefit of its citizens and business community. The office of Intergovernmental Relations houses the Town's policy and legislative team and staff for the Mayor and Council. It is a part of the Town Manager's Office and serves all Town departments as well as our elected officials. So to say the least, they do a lot and I hope to be put into the mix of doing all I can and learning everything they allow me to for experience purposes.

I am surrounded by a great bunch of people and the team functionality is awesome. I think I will adapt well to their fast pace and soon be a good asset to the team (crosses fingers). Right now, my work flow is mainly doing the different tasks they are giving me. I have learned that they are seeing what skill sets I have and what I can handle. So far I have been accomplishing everything that is being assigned to me and talks of my project are being tossed around. It appears that every intern for the Intergovernmental Relations department has a project that they will be assigned and will present this project to the Executive Team.

In the beginning I was told that our department is very active and we would be attending a lot of meeting and networking with all kinds of people, and I thought this is going to awesome because I really need to be more effective with my networking skills.

It's the dawning of a new era...

Hi, my name is Skye Mike and I am a junior working on my Bachelor's degree in Public Service Public Policy at Arizona State University. After I graduate I do plan on pursuing my MPA which may take me out of the state of Arizona for this next step in my educational advancements. I am of Mohave and Chemehuevi descent and an enrolled member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes located in Parker, AZ. I have the privilege of being apart of the Native American Management Internship at the Town of Gilbert working in the Intergovernmental Relations department. Ultimately I hope to use everything I obtain through my internship to better hone my skills for my professional career.

For my PAF 484 Internship course I have been given the task of creating a blog and I have objectives I must complete to get credit for my internship, which as I mentioned is at the Town of Gilbert Intergovernmental Relations department.

Three things I hope to get out of my internship are:

• First I hope to learn the skill of effective communication, and I feel I am in the best hands to do so. The Intergovernmental Relations team here at the Town of Gilbert are amazing individuals and I know I will learn a lot from them.
• Another skill set I hope to learn is networking. and to be able to utilize this resource well enough to work a crowd and make some connections that may become beneficial later in my career.

• Finally I hope to learn to become an effective Intergovernmental Relations team member, they work with all aspects of local, state, and federal government. And do a lot of the behind the scenes work along with lobbying.

And through observation and hard work I hope to learn all these skills that will be valuable to me for use back home on my reservation with tribal relations of government-to-government activity.