Fifteen

Issue date: 10/13/09 Section: Student Life

An emergency response headquarters

In the past few weeks, major disasters in Indonesia, the Philippines, Samoa, American Samoa and, closest to home, the State of Georgia have devastated communities and forever altered the lives of residents. Those who are responding to these emergencies have been working quickly to save as many lives as possible and provide relief to survivors. While these crises often arise quickly and without warning, there are professionals who work daily to prepare for similar emergencies and to assist those affected by past disasters to recover.

With the support of the Sloan Non-Profit Internship Fund, I spent this summer at the State of Florida's Division of Emergency Management (FDEM). Employees at FDEM and their partners are "working together to ensure that Florida is prepared to respond to emergencies, recover from them, and mitigate against their impacts." Day to day activities include ensuring that communities are notified of potential emergencies, assisting cities in securing funding to prevent disasters or to prepare to respond to emergencies, and supporting communities recovering from past disasters.

At FDEM, I worked directly with the Finance and Administration Bureau Chief and Deputy Bureau Chief to improve and create business processes which would help the Division more efficiently manage the limited resources available. Applying tools I learned from OP, Intro to Operations, and System Dynamics, I worked with teams to eliminate backlogs in paperwork and develop systems to improve accountability and efficiency.

The internship provided me with multiple learning opportunities. First, I experienced the public sector working environment. Second, as a result of working on various business processes throughout the division, I was able to achieve one of my personal goals for the internship: to explore multiple aspects of Emergency Management. Interviewing representatives from Bureaus charged with different missions from preparedness to recovery, I learned volumes about both the successes possible and the challenges faced by state agencies planning to respond. This experience has helped me to gain insight about potential career paths in emergency preparedness.

The SNIF program shows how much MIT Sloan values public service. I am grateful for the availability of the fund which made it possible for me to accept a public sector internship without bearing additional financial burden. I encourage all members in the Class of 2011 to consider the availability of this fund as they think about their internships next summer. Take advantage of the opportunity to provide agencies serving the public with the tools to help them more effectively accomplish their important missions.

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