Learning from the mayor

Elizabeth Moore, a junior at St. John’s School, spent her summer as an intern in the mayor’s office.

Experiencing foreign cultures and learning about international affairs have always been important to me. So, when I learned I was going to be interning at the Mayor’s Office of International Trade and Development this summer, I felt excited and nervous. I had just finished my sophomore year in high school, and all of the other interns were well into or past college.

However, on my first day, I realized that I had nothing to fear. The other interns were friendly and approachable. Some are studying international relations or law, and some hail from other countries like Russia. The work turned out to be interesting, too. Instead of filing or taking coffee orders, right off the bat, I started drafting letters to important people, coordinating events, and even attending meetings of the different Mayor’s International Trade and Development Councils.

Recently, I was able to attend a meeting of the MITDC–Asia/Australia. At that meeting, I enjoyed seeing how members of the committee represented many different parts of Asia (for example, Japan, Vietnam and Korea) coming together in the Houston community. The most interesting part was hearing from Consul General Li Qiangmin about connections between Houston and China. I especially liked learning about how we support each other through business and trade. What I like the best about my internship is working in the heart of downtown and being assigned intriguing projects.

I’ve had a few challenges at my internship, including figuring out how to write formal business letters and navigate the tunnel system downtown (although now, I can proudly say I am a master of the tunnel system). To cap off my summer, I will have the incredible opportunity, if I pay for my own travel expenses, to continue my internship for a week in August in Stavanger, Norway. My bosses will be attending the annual conference of the World Energy Cities Partnership, and they said they could use my help. I’ve really enjoyed interning at the Mayor’s Office of International Trade and Development and I hope to intern there again next summer!

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