3600 Wheeler Ave
Alexandria VA 22304 (3rd floor)
Number of Interns: 1
Mentor Information:
Eric Parker
Acting Radio Manager
Responsible for the operation and maintenance of the city’s public safety radio and 911 systems.
Contact Information:
See your Internship Instructor.
What types of work will the intern perform?
It doesn’t seem like there would be enough time to “cut them loose” so the intern would likely be with myself or a staff member most of the time. Additionally, some types of work would be in appropriate for someone under 21 to do by themselves. For example, I sometimes need to walk through buildings that are under construction to verify radio system coverage. I’m not going to send out a 17-year old to do that by themselves. That said, work would include:
Assisting in: Coverage tests, radio programming, radio system maintenance (mostly maintaining the contracts for vendors that perform the actual maintenance but we frequently need to meet them on site), equipment testing, etc. I would almost certainly have the intern do a “ride along” with a police officer and fire battalion chief.
What might a highly motivated intern experience while working for your organization?
Information Technology, radio systems, public safety systems, government work and responsibilities, organizational structure and relationships, etc.
Skills Needed on a Scale of 1 to 5
1 – almost never 2 – seldom 3- sometimes 4 – often 5 – almost always
Math=3
Reading=3
Lifting=4
Technology=4
Communication with Clients=3