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Photograph by Steve Enders
Twenty-one-year-old David Russell will get first-hand experience with the city.
City intern trumpets success marching to the city's drum
Putting classroom skills to use
By Steve Enders
Each fall, David Russell can be found in two places--on the football fields of some of the West's biggest universities and in the classrooms of one of California's best universities, trying to figure out legalities of contract-making and the intricacies of how to run a city.
Russell, a San Jose native, is putting those classroom skills to good use as the city of Saratoga's new intern in the city manager's office. He's also the first in what City Manager Larry Perlin hopes will be a long line of successors to help him perform his duties.
Perlin said he's hoping to load as much as possible onto his new assistant. "I'm planning on giving him as much as he can handle. They're usually pretty eager to learn about what goes on in city government."
Russell will be a senior this year at the University of Southern California, one of the premier institutions for studying public policy and development. According to Russell, 21, the school is also one of the nation's oldest in that particular field.
After graduating, he hopes to continue there and receive a master's degree, perhaps in public administration, and become a city manager.
USC also has one of the world's most famous university marching bands, and since Russell is one to get involved and likes to stay busy, he plays trumpet for the Trojan band.
For an intern, Russell certainly has nice digs at City Hall. Nestled right between city clerk Susan Ramos and the city manager, Russell's office isn't the typical broom closet won by many interns. One of his only decorations is a large picture of the Trojan band on the wall behind him.
But instead of walking around and humming "Fight On!" or whistling the melody to "Tusk," Russell has found himself blowing all the notes of a seasoned city employee.
"I've always been interested in politics and government," Russell said. "My parents always fostered the idea that you should get involved with government, so that's what I'm doing."
What he's doing is more along the lines of a full-time city staffer. In his first month on the job, he's worked on a number of key city projects including the Saratoga Creek settlement implementation, beginning a pilot SafeRides program with students from Saratoga High School and working with the Saratoga Business Development Council to help meetings run more smoothly.
Perlin said that City Hall has plenty of work to keep Russell busy for the summer.
"It's mostly work that would otherwise get set aside or put on a back burner if I was doing it or if Irene [Jacobs] was doing it, but it's ideal for an intern."
Russell has had internship experience before, in the city of Arcadia in Southern California. He'll return there as an intern again during the regular school year on a part-time basis.
In Arcadia, he said he hasn't had the same kinds of experience as in Saratoga.
"It's more of a mentoring program there," he said. "Here, I'm really treated as a professional."
This isn't Saratoga's first intern position ever, but Perlin had the idea for an ongoing program when he learned of a similar program in another city.
But Perlin added an entirely different job duty for his intern. Part of Russell's professional role with Saratoga will be to find his replacement for the program. Because of that, he will be working in an outreach capacity as well, forming relationships with local universities and helping recruit the next intern.
"I'll probably be involved in the interviewing process a bit, too. It's great experience in human resources, which is really important in any job," Russell said.
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Saratoga, California Since 1975
