Amanda Selby (left) with Wilkes County Marketing Director Tiffany Rainey (right). Photo provided by Wilkes County.
Amanda Selby (left) with Wilkes County Marketing Director Tiffany Rainey (right). Photo provided by Wilkes County.
Amanda Selby, a mass communications major at Georgia College, interned with Wilkes County as part of the 2016 Summer Georgia County Internship Program. Although the only prior experience Selby had in government operations was, "from watching the show Parks & Recreation," she jumped into her internship looking to make a difference. During the internship Selby found that she was a quick learner and was able to develop a broad knowledge of county government.
Selby’s main duty involved developing and creating a county website to be used by residents, investors and visitors in Wilkes County. That included determining exactly what the county wanted in a website. She had to create a sitemap and select the layout of the website. Selby also had to network with stakeholders within the community which included obtaining information from various boards and departments. After gathering information, she had to transfer that information onto the appropriate web pages. Selby found that she needed to get out of her comfort zone and really get to know the stakeholders involved in order to create the type of website the county needed.
Selby voiced that her favorite part of the internship was using the skills she learned in her undergraduate program in real world applications. She found that she was able to learn more when applying her skills first hand. Selby also said she developed professional and communication skills by learning on the job and communicating with county staff.
When ending her internship Selby found that she had developed skills and gained greater knowledge in mass communication and public relations. She said she enjoyed working for Wilkes County and would "absolutely" consider a career in county government. Selby found that interacting and networking with stakeholders was a very rewarding and positive experience and wished that she had more time to spend working for the county beyond the timeframe of her internship.
For more information on the GCIP, please visit the ACCG Civic Affairs Foundation website at http://www.civicaffairs.org.
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