Hello from Boaz...Who Is Almost in AJ City

Hello, my name is Boaz Witbeck and I am a second year masters of public administration student  at Arizona State University. To start my blog, "Boaz in AJ City", it only makes sense to introduce myself.

Here are a few interesting things about me:

• I am the oldest and only boy in my family. I have 3 younger sisters whom I love dearly
• I work full time on a graveyard shift at American Express speaking with Aussies and New Zealanders on the phones
• I am involved in my church, Tempe Vineyard Church where I teach Sunday school, help with the Audio/Video Team, and am active in my Bible study group
• I played tennis for 4 years of high school and still occasionally pick up my racket for exercise and fun
• I have a dry but silly sense of humor and I love to make others laugh
• I just celebrated my 23rd birthday about two weeks ago

I am excited that I will be interning for the city of Apache Junction (known as AJ) and I will be working within the city manager's office under the budget director and the special assistant to the city manager. I am very grateful for this opportunity to learn and grow in my career skills and hope to build upon what I have learned in my MPA degree to apply it in practical ways in AJ. I will begin this upcoming Tuesday!

My primary project for the summer will be to fold the Capital Investment Plan (CIP) into the annual budget. The three goals I have for this internship are as follows:

1. To learn the many ways that the CIP fits into the overall budget plan and to find the best fit from the options I will research for AJ
2. To build professional relationships and get to know the roles and importance of various persons within the city manager's office
3. To prepare myself to be a budget analyst and a future leader in city government

This blog will range from personal topics to discussions about what I am learning in my internship with AJ City. I hope you enjoy the blog and learn something about yourself through my experiences and thoughts.