End of Internship Reflections
By Peyton Foster (2024 Intern with the Planning Division)
From left to right: Peyton Foster (2024 Intern) with Planners Ellen Sizer, Elizabeth Dakin, Holly Hornbeak, and Jeff Green.
As I approach my final week after four months, I wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on my time in Dayton in the form of the various lessons I have learned.
1. Failure is okay.
I want to credit this tip to my mentor throughout my internship who taught me the importance of failure. She told me it is better to turn something in that might be wrong than nothing at all. I made it a point to always get my work checked regularly so I can learn from my mistakes as well as create deadlines to hold myself accountable. I let go of my idea of finishing my work perfectly and instead focused on doing it right and getting it done. I learned to embrace my mistakes and apply them in my work so I could become a better intern.
2. Be an active listener.
You never know when things will come up later; whether it be in a meeting on Monday morning that feels arbitrary in the moment or a brief conversation with your boss about how their weekend was, all details remain important. Active listening is more than just using your ears to listen, it requires you to take in what the person is saying and be able to take away the most important points. I found it helpful to have a notebook with me at all times for me to constantly jot into and look back later on. Just don’t forget to write down the date the meeting took place!
3. Communication is key.
Going into my internship, I wanted to be the perfect intern for my team. However, there is no such thing as a perfect intern, and instead, I focused on being a great intern. By communicating my struggles, questions, and concerns with what was being asked of me, I was able to get the help I needed to complete the project. I realized that it is better to say “I don’t know” or “I don’t understand” rather than make up an answer or just agree with my mentor because it allows me to learn, understand, and get my projects done efficiently. As I leave my internship, I feel more prepared for the future on account of feeling able to communicate my way through any challenging task or setback I am faced with.
4. Ask MANY Questions.
Upon being hired by Dayton, I had never actually visited the city before. Everything was completely new to me; its history and even its basic layout. It was imperative for me to ask questions to understand the role of my profession within the City and their
responsibilities to Dayton’s residents. As an example, it was only after asking about a particular map of Dayton hung up in one of the planning offices that I learned of the aquifer below the city. In addition, coming into an organization for the first time as an intern can be daunting. All within the first few weeks, you are simultaneously getting familiar with your new coworkers as well as learning their systems of organizing. It was very easy to forget where a certain file was located amongst a vast web of data, and that’s why I very quickly learned it’s not only faster to ask but better to do so as well. I was not expected to be an expert on anything in particular and instead could invest my time into gaining exposure to as many different things as possible.
5. Get as much exposure as possible.
One of the best parts of my internship at Dayton has been the opportunities I've had to speak with an employee from as many different departments within the city as possible. Since September, I had the privilege of speaking with Economic Development, Community Development, Mediation, the newly created Office of Sustainability, and Welcome Dayton. This experience has been one of the most insightful, as I learned of each of their contributions to the city from a firsthand account. However, the Office of Sustainability stood out as the most fascinating. Operating under the Office of the City Manager's guidance, the Office of Sustainability oversees a comprehensive strategy aimed at steering Dayton towards a greater relationship with its natural environment. This strategy encompasses a wide array of projects and actions with a primary focus on reducing carbon emissions, saving money, and advancing equity and resilience in the City. Additionally, the office extends its support to residents and businesses by offering guidance on water and electricity conservation, transitioning to solar energy, recycling, and other sustainable practices. Work such as the Office of Sustainability has reinvigorated my desire to become a planner. Before moving to Cincinnati to study Urban Planning, I had first attended college for two years in Asheville, North Carolina. I had hardly made it through my first month of interning with the City when Hurricane Helene tore its way through the South in late September of 2024. I was deeply horrified to see the devastation climate change could bring to urban centers that were not designed to handle such destructive weather. After speaking with the Office of Sustainability, I began to see a legitimate place within my major to have a beneficial career after leaving college. As the problems of climate change will continue to remain with us, so will the need for planners to avert future catastrophes. It is possible I could have come to this conclusion on my own outside of an internship; however, I would not have had the chance to speak to professionals already working in the field and making progress toward a sustainable future for Dayton.
Overall, these five lessons I have learned as an intern have made me realize my potential to be as successful anywhere else I work, and will continue to make an impact just as I did during my time as a Dayton intern. Thank you so much to the City of Dayton and its Planning department for giving me this opportunity and responsibility over these last few months.