Southeast Idaho Council of Governments and ISU's MPA Program: Real-World Experience and Career Opportunities for Students
Elisabeth Curtis
June 12, 2023
Since the 1990s, Southeast Idaho Council of Governments (SICOG) has worked with the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program at Idaho State University (ISU), helping MPA students get experience in economic and community development.
“Many of our interns get direct experience writing and administering grants and working directly with local governments in Southeast Idaho,” says Mark McBeth, Chair of the Department of Political Science and Director of the MPA program. “These experiences allow them to apply what they are learning in the classroom and most often give them career guidance.”
McBeth says that ISU’s relationship with SICOG has been a long and productive one for the MPA program. Today, Krystal Denney, Director of Operations at SICOG, is instrumental in mentoring ISU students. Denney, an ISU political science alumna, works with intern students in the program.
Denney is SICOG’s Community Development Director and is responsible for the oversight of the Community Development team, ongoing and developing projects, and guiding the strategic direction of the Community Development Division. Denney says, “the ISU Career Path Internship program has given our small non-profit the ability to build capacity for the communities that we serve.”
She explains that the partnership allows SICOG to offer students real-world experience and connections to municipal, county, state and federal government entities. As a CPI with SICOG, the student experience can range from grant writing, leading public hearings, comprehensive planning and research, and infrastructure development.
“One of the very best parts of my job is mentoring students through their internship,” Denney says. “We are able to navigate the types of work that they find interesting and capitalize on their interest and skill to better serve our community. In turn, we are able to give them job experience and better prepare them for their field of choice. We couldn’t do what we do without the support of Dr. McBeth and the MPA Program.”
The most recent successes with the CPI and SICOG partnership involve Robert Overy, a political science undergraduate; Katherine Selvage, an ISU MPA student; and Nate Mortimer, an ISU MPA student.
Robert Overy has been an intern with SICOG since October 2022. Denney says that Robert works very hard and has been a big help to the Economic Development team.
“All my coworkers are very encouraging and supportive and I'm proud to be a part of the culture we're building there,” Robert says. “Working at SICOG continues to provide me with knowledge and experience that I can take and use in whatever career path I choose. I've always been the type of person who's wanted to help people and I get to do that every day at SICOG. What we do for our local communities is awesome and I'm grateful I get to be a part of it.”
CPI Nate Mortimer was offered a full-time position in Community Development beginning in October. Denney says, “he’s really taken ownership of the work and has quickly become an invaluable part of our team.”
Denney says that Katherine Selvage has a passion for natural resources that, when paired with their magnetic personality, makes them a joy to work beside every day. During Katherine’s first week with SICOG they wrote a grant for the first time, which was awarded.
Katherine is a student in the master’s program for public administration, with an emphasis in environmental administration. This is Katherine’s first year with ISU, and they say, “I have come to love the school and the amazing things it does for the community and its students.”
Katherine’s CPI position in SICOG has allowed them to do grant writing and research to assist in the overarching goals of the organization. Katherine says, “SICOG has been a wonderful organization that welcomed me with open arms.”
Katherine says they went into the MPA program with no experience other than basic retail experience and a Bachelors in Political Science from the University of Idaho. Katherine reached out to Dr. McBeth about what they could do to change that and gain experience. Dr. McBeth spoke to Krystal Denny at SICOG about taking Katherine in as an intern.
As a result, Katherine says they started their internship at SICOG, which has taught them how to write grants, a variety of administrative tasks, and has helped them garner the experience they needed. Katherine says the partnership with SICOG has also been mutually beneficial, as they are able to help SICOG with different projects while SICOG helps them learn new things.
“SICOG is a very welcoming organization and I am proud to say that I intern with them and to see all the amazing work that they do,” Katherine says. “ISU is very lucky to have such a great relationship, and I am very thankful for the opportunity to intern with SICOG and grow a further understanding of what my overarching career goals are going to be after the MPA program and my internship.”
Some of the MPA alumni who started their career at SICOG include Jim Hagar, now Economic Development Manager at the Port of Vancouver; Ashley Squryes, now president of a public affairs firm in Boise; Cydney Pearce, now an operations manager at Confluence Institute; Stacey Garitone, now Tech Lead Specialist at Battelle; Lisa Burtenshaw, now Associate Direct of Development at LInfield University; and Michael Patton, now the Recreation Director at the City of Ephraim.
For more information about CPI opportunities available to ISU students please visit the Career Path Internship webpage.
For more information about the Department of Political Science at ISU contact Mark McBeth at markmcbeth@isu.edu or visit their website at https://www.isu.edu/polisci/.
For more information about SICOG please contact Krystal Denney at krystal.denney@sicog.org or call 208-233-4535 or visit the SICOG webpage.