Austin Cityworks Class

I am soooo behind on posting about my cityworks class! it's been so much fun and i've been learning tons so shame on me for not posting sooner.

lets rewind to how all this started. i read in the paper that the city of austin was putting on an academy so its citizens could learn more about their city government. being the nerd that i am, i immediately applied and probably spent a good 15 minutes on the application (when i probably should have spent 2 hours because it was comprised of 5 essay questions). i was surprised to find out that i was one of the 30 who was accepted out of the 300 applicants but later realized i was most likely accepted because of my ethnic background and gender, ha.

here's a quick run down of what we've covered so far. the class meets every tuesday and it comes with a free dinner!

1. met mayor, city manager, and some city council members to understand how the city is structured and receive a general overview of austin's govt

2. tour of austin convention center and airport. did you know the austin airport is named after the 1st austinite who died while in battle in WWII? did you know there's an age limit to work in the airport tower?

3. library services, economic growth & redevelopment services, small & minority business --> lots of resources available to austin citizens!

4. EMS and firefighter training (pictured above). these guys are everyday heroes! i got to break down a steel door, shoot a firehose, and watch a propoane tank blow up - super cool. i also tried talking to the cheif of the fire dept bc it's rare to see a female in this type of role but she was not interested in answering my questions :x.

5. communication center: where 911 calls are taken and homeland security and emergency management happens here too

6. municipal & community court (i hope i never have to return here) and austin police dept. i got to see the cop's helicopter, horses, bomb squad, and swat team. did you know just last week a pipe bomb was put on top of propane tanks at a nearby HEB!?

more to come as classes resume...