You could say Josh Crowley '27 first got a taste of community service at the age of seven, when he made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the homeless. “My mother always, always encouraged me to give back and volunteer,” he says. “Community underlies my life choices, motivates me to tackle challenges and create positive change. I want to make change in any community I’m part of.”
At home in Austin, Texas last summer, Crowley, a politics major, was inspired by friends whose path to civil service was facilitated by their schools, and an idea percolated. Why not create a pathway for Pomona students to intern with the City of Claremont? He was keenly interested in service, and he had accepted the role of community liaison for the Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) for the coming year. “So,” Crowley says, “it really seemed like my job was to go in and create this program.” He called it the Sagehen Civic Scholars Internship Program.
When he returned to campus in late summer for the start of school, Crowley paid a visit to Claremont City Manager Adam Pirrie to pitch his idea. Five minutes into the conversation Pirrie interjected, “You can stop here. You’ve already convinced me.”
At Pirrie’s request, Deputy City Manager Katie Wand took up the concept with department heads, asking them to identify projects in their areas that a student intern could do for an entire semester. The city manager’s one requirement: “I don’t want anyone here doing busywork. The interns' work should be meaningful and substantive, for them and for the city." By September, they had outlined nine internship opportunities, ranging from tracking city policy actions regarding housing to developing a mechanism to monitor electricity and water usage in city facilities.
Crowley had no idea how much work would go into getting the program running. He estimates he’s already invested 75 to 100 hours organizing and recruiting during the program’s first six months. He and Wand created an application process, managed by the ASPC, and when the applications went live in November, more than 70 Pomona students applied for the nine unpaid positions. City department heads interviewed and selected interns from the applicant pool before the winter break, and the interns began their projects in late January. (Read here about some of their projects and experiences.)
Pirrie told Crowley at their first meeting that in 20 years with the city, he had seen just two or three college interns at City Hall. Suddenly, starting in January of this year, there were three times that number. Crowley notes that half the interns are first-year students. “Honestly, they come in with the most enthusiasm,” he says, adding that he created the program because he wishes there had been something like it for him to be part of during his first year of college.
Next fall, Crowley will be abroad, studying politics and economics at the London School of Economics, but he has no doubt that another student will be able to carry on the Civic Scholars program. In fact, plans are well underway to expand it to the other undergraduate colleges in the consortium.
Crowley says that in his senior year he very well may apply for an internship himself. “I read the project descriptions, and I was a little jealous,” he says. “These projects sound really interesting.”
Deputy City Manager Wand shares Crowley’s enthusiasm. “I’m so proud of the work that the interns have completed so far,” she says, remarking about the enthusiasm they bring to the work. The City of Claremont is providing a welcoming environment and mentorship for the students, which has a positive impact on the “town-gown” relationship, Wand says. “Our hope is that programs like this one will foster student interest in local government professions and will eventually result in the next generation of public servants!”