Rochester Hills Creates 'Pathways To Public Service' Program

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI -- Recognizing the need to elevate the awareness of careers in municipal government and inspire the next generation of city employees, the City of Rochester Hills has created the “Pathway to Public Service” program. The comprehensive initiative includes four components: an internship program and a fellowship program, both targeting college students, and outreach programs targeting high school students and college career planning and placement professionals. The effort is being funded by a generous grant from Wells Fargo.

The grant will allow the City to onboard four college student interns and award six $5,000 fellowships to college juniors or seniors or master’s degree students during the first half of 2019. In addition to receiving funds to offset educational costs like tuition, books and fees, fellowship recipients will participate in an interactive group project led by the Mayor’s Office as a condition of the receipt of the award. This project will require participants to learn about all aspects of municipal government – the what, why and the how behind the City’s work -- culminating in a group project and presentation. Applications for the fellowship can be found online at www.rochesterhills.org and are due on March 8, 2019.

“We’re thrilled about the creation of the 'Pathway to Public Service' program and the funding we received from the Wells Fargo CommunityWINS Grant Program to implement it," Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan K. Barnett said. "Participants will learn about the work we do at the City, why we do it and how they can make a meaningful difference in the life of a community.”

The CommunityWINS program was brought to the City through its relationship with the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM).

“Wells Fargo is pleased to team with the USCM to make these grants available for efforts such as the Pathway to Public Service program and enable them to support their neighborhoods,” said Martin Sundquist, executive director of the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation. “Wells Fargo cares about the communities we serve, and the CommunityWINS grant program is among several economic empowerment efforts we support to strengthen communities.”

Rochester Hills’ “Pathway to Public Service” initiative has already reached high school students through the City’s participation in Rochester Community Schools’ comprehensive Authentic Career Experience program last October and active involvement in the first ever MI Career Quest SE event in November. The latter allowed the City to engage over 7,000 high school students from 100 schools across the region in a single day.

In addition, Rochester Hills’ leadership has connected with college career planning and placement professionals that are part of the Michigan Career Educator & Employer Alliance (MCEEA). The goal is to keep careers in municipal government on their radar when they’re advising college students about career opportunities. Mayor Barnett welcomed this group to our community in December.

“We love telling the story of our City and talking about careers that students may have never considered. We’re being proactive and intentional about reaching out to the next generation and to those who influence them,” stated Barnett.

“We want to be proactive about creating a constant pipeline of the best and brightest candidates to fill job openings in the City for years to come,” he said. “Even better, we anticipate our “Pathway to Public Service” program will become a model for other communities to replicate throughout the country.”

Image via City of Rochester Hills