Cassidy Nimmons

I would say some opportunities are that it's really great to work in municipalities. It's not something I really heard about in high school, because a lot of local governments don't exactly prefer or need a degree. You don't need a degree to work in the field, but they will help you to get your degree. So right now, I think a great opportunity is a lot of local governments will pay for you to go to school, so right now I'm being paid to get my degree in public administration. Also, there's a lot of room for growth in going into different positions. You can go into municipality and start off working as, like, an assistant, or basically a secretary, or a customer service representative, and you can learn about all the moving parts, and say if you like finance, you can get a role going into finance, or if you like being creative and working with kids, you can go into Parks and Recreation. There's a lot of room for growth, and a very diverse option of opportunities when it comes to the career. It's not like an end-all, be-all. Like, you start off working at an insurance company, and then you're insurance for the rest of your life. You can do so many different things in the field. Honestly, there is a good amount of money in the field. There's a lot of people in the chain of command, and people do retire, and once you're in the field, and you know it, they would rather have someone that has been there working either at that town or in that state and understands the local political system than just someone with a degree or with random experience. There's a lot of opportunities for real growth, and a good community of like-minded people that just want to do their job and get it done right. The main challenge in working in government is kind of dealing with the public, because even though you are also a taxpaying citizen, they kind of view you as, like, oh, I pay you. And they don't exactly view you the same way that they would view other professions. I would say that that's the main challenge, is understanding that even though citizens and residents might have a lot to say, they're saying it from a place of care for their community at the end of the day.

I would say my top values are definitely always being professional and kind. You have to be both. You have to learn how to say no, but you have to do it in a kind way. I think that is really hard for a lot of younger people, because, you know, you never know when someone's having a bad day, and they're just taking it out on you. It's always good to be that nice and kind person, even when, you know, maybe everyone around you might not be so kind to you. The other thing that I would say is just being yourself at work. I think a lot of people are afraid to be themselves and kind of let their personalities out, out of fear of being judged or being perceived as maybe unprofessional or weird, but I think that a lot of jobs actually give you more opportunities when you show people who you really are as a person, and if you're outgoing, you have to use your personality to your advantage, in all fields.