A College Student’s Take on Johnson County’s Business Community
What does a college student interested in public policy think about the Johnson County business community? That is the question we asked our summer intern as he wraps up his work.
Aspire Johnson County teamed up with the Johnson County Community Foundation (JCCF) this summer to host college intern Jack Titzer. Jack will be a senior this fall at Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, where he studies law and public policy. He spent much of his time researching prominent community issues, including health care costs, early care and education, and housing. He also engaged with business leaders at meetings, networking events, and workshops.
So, how did it go? And what did he think of the business leaders he met?
Q: Jack, what interested you in interning with JCCF and Aspire, and what were you hoping to learn?
What interested me is simple. I was born and raised in Johnson County, and I have watched it change and grow my entire life. I have always wondered who fosters that change and how all the moving parts come together.
The answer is that JCCF, Aspire, business owners, and many others work together to make Johnson County a better place to live, work, and play because they care deeply about their home. That is also why I wanted this internship. I care about my home and want to make it better for everyone.
I wanted to learn how business owners and local government officials come together to make Johnson County work. At Indiana University, I have learned the technical details of how and why things work, but I wanted to be on the ground talking with the people making decisions that affect their businesses and community. I have gotten just that.
Q: It sounds like you had the opportunity to see that work from several different perspectives. What projects or experiences stood out to you most?
I worked on a lot of cool projects and experienced some very cool things. Picking just one is hard because everything I did this summer provided real value that I will take with me throughout my career.
However, I especially enjoyed researching attainable housing. Having the freedom to use my own analytical thinking to develop a possible solution for the county was amazing. It allowed me to apply what I have learned at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs to real life.
I also enjoyed attending one of Aspire’s School to Work Teacher Field Trips, where teachers from around the county visited local government buildings and learned what happens there. It was extremely informative and fun!
Additionally, I served as a panelist at JCCF’s Scholarship Recipient Banquet. I spoke with incoming college freshmen about college life and shared my perspective on what works and what does not. It was amazing to use my own experiences to make an impact in my community.
Q: Through those experiences, what surprised you most about Johnson County’s business community?
How connected it all is. Aspire really is the spider that spins Johnson County’s networking web, so being its intern gave me a front-row seat to see how business leaders interact and work not just for themselves, but for everyone in the county.
As part of my internship, I interviewed several business leaders and wrote spotlight articles about them. Time and again, I discovered they knew one another or had helped each other in some way. I truly love how connected Johnson County is and how JCCF and Aspire give business leaders an outlet to make one another better.
Q: You mentioned how connected the business community is. What did you learn about how business and community leaders work together to tackle challenges and opportunities?
I learned a lot about how Johnson County’s business and community leaders work together to develop the community, tackle challenges, and take advantage of opportunities. Johnson County is a very connected place, so business leaders from many industries work with local community leaders every day to make it better.
I saw this firsthand through Aspire’s Legislation Matters series. The most recent event, which focused on municipal government, brought together business leaders and elected officials from across the county. They discussed real issues facing businesses and residents and explored ideas, programs, and methods our county can use to tackle those issues together.
I believe our county is especially equipped to address challenges that many others are not because of our connectivity and the willingness of our business and government leaders to hear from the public, work together, and get things done.
Q: After seeing that work firsthand, how has this internship shaped your career goals or interests?
My internship has done so much to shape my career goals and interests. It placed me in conversations with many important people whose decisions affect not only Johnson County and its residents, but the entire state. That has been extremely valuable to me and my future.
The research I conducted on attainable housing, early care and education, and other issues also reshaped some of my thinking and taught me new things about topics that matter greatly to our community. I could not be more grateful for everything JCCF and Aspire have given me through this experience. I cannot wait to apply what I have learned to my future endeavors.
Q: Based on your experience, what suggestion or idea could you share with local business leaders to help others like you?
If I could share one suggestion with Johnson County’s business leaders to help aspiring leaders like me, it would be to simply listen.
Everyone has their own interests and goals, both for their businesses and themselves. Some of those goals may work well together, and others may not. But for anything to work, we all need to listen to one another and hear each other out.
I believe my class and the graduating classes around me will bring new and innovative ideas to every part of the workforce. The only way those ideas will go anywhere or come to fruition is if we listen to one another.