Georgia County Internship Spotlight
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Interns in Augusta-Richmond County Excel in Finance and Communications Internships
For Augusta University students Aaliyah Clark and Karl Gantz, summer internships with Augusta-Richmond County provided vital opportunities for career development and engagement with their local community. By completing internships in their career fields, both students applied their skills to projects outside the classroom and learned about the many functions of county government.
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Gantz, an accounting major, interned with the county’s finance department. His path to the internship was untraditional – Gantz initially studied medicine and intended to become a nurse. However, his plans changed, and he found a new interest in finance. Though he had begun taking accounting courses in school, his internship with the county was his first opportunity to apply what he was learning in class and, in Gantz’s words, “fine-tune some of my skills.”
Throughout his internship, Gantz assisted with various financial projects. He worked with the deputy finance director to evaluate funding for the county engineering department, which receives a significant share of county funding. Gantz also assessed budget variances, completed financial journal entries, and prepared budget documents for capital projects. In the middle of the internship, Augusta-Richmond County began its 2025 budget process, and Gantz participated firsthand in preparing annual budget worksheets. He noted that his favorite part of the internship was working on budget analysis and research. “Being from Augusta, you see the city change, but seeing the inner workings shows how important work and projects come to life," Gantz reflected.
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In the county administrator’s office, Aaliyah Clark spent the summer working on public information projects. Clark, who recently graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and concentration in digital marketing, used her skills to propel various county initiatives. She monitored county media coverage, coordinated press events, wrote press materials, and worked with staff to ensure consistent county messaging across media channels.
One of Clark’s major projects was promoting the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing. Clark’s specific role was designing a marketing strategy for the Turpin Hill neighborhood revitalization project, which aims to decrease blight and engage residents in their community. Clark worked to connect with community members and create a visual marker for the project. Recognizing the challenges of the landscape – for example, overgrown lawns prevented effective yard signs – she created a window sticker to promote the project. She also assisted with the Turpin Hill Community Resource Fair, which she described as “instrumental in engaging the community and promoting the revitalization efforts in the neighborhood.”
Both Clark and Gantz reported gaining relevant skills through their internships. Gantz acquired high-level Excel skills, practiced reading financial documents, and learned how to analyze budgets. Clark said she deepened her knowledge of public relations, media management, and strategic communications. In addition to their field-specific skills, they also developed key competencies for the beginning of their careers. Clark noted that she grew confident in her project management abilities and felt more comfortable sharing her thoughts and ideas with her peers. Gantz said that he felt affirmed in his choice to pursue accounting due to the support from other county staff. “It’s kind of like being a seed,” Gantz said. “You get to plant yourself somewhere and see where you grow.”
At the end of the summer, the county hired Clark and Gantz in part-time positions with their respective departments. Working through the fall, they gained more experience and supplemented their studies at Augusta University. Clark graduated in December 2024 and Gantz plans to graduate this spring. As they look to the future, both Clark and Gantz said they would “absolutely” consider careers in county government. Their GCIP internship experience laid a solid foundation for their skills, interests, and values. “This has really ignited that spark within me,” Clark said. “I’m excited to do work like this in my career, wherever I end up.”
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