Georgia County Internship Spotlight

In Bartow County, Adairsville High School senior Jewel Lowrey completed an internship in the engineering department. With plans to study civil engineering in college, Lowrey saw the internship as an ideal opportunity to start developing technical skills while still in high school.

Lowrey worked closely with development engineers Kayla Campbell and Madison Giroir to visit and review site plans in the county. She also received training in AutoCAD, a design software commonly used in engineering. She put her AutoCAD skills to the test by creating a variety of maps, road expansion and modification plans, and a dumpster pad pre-treatment detail. Reflecting on her work, she said, “I feel that most of what I did over the internship was important, but I think the most significant success was creating standard details and a set of road linework on AutoCAD.”

In addition to learning AutoCAD, Lowrey strengthened other important skills, such as map interpretation. Without her internship, she would not have had the opportunity to learn how to read and review a map before attending college. Equipped with these new skills, Lowrey is entering college with a solid foundation for her future civil engineering studies.

For University of Georgia senior Abby Crosby, her internship with the Camden County Planning & Development Department was slightly off the beaten path from what she dedicated her time in school to studying. A business administration major, Crosby stepped outside her comfort zone to explore an area of work unfamiliar to her: planning and GIS.

During her internship, Crosby collected data on county signs and culverts, tracking inspection dates and conditions. She also updated records, removing out-of-use signs and culverts and adding new ones. Crosby then used GIS to convert the data into a virtual dashboard. She also prepared a final presentation that she gave to commissioners at the conclusion of her internship.

“Before my internship, I had no real knowledge of GIS or the part it played in county government,” Crosby reflected. “I am proud to say I started something completely new and have been able to complete my job well.” While she does not plan to transition into planning or public works, Crosby is grateful for the experience and the confidence it gave her to take on unfamiliar challenges. She developed new skills in data visualization, communication, and professional adaptability—qualities she will carry with her as she prepares for a business career and pursues her MBA. Beyond the technical knowledge she gained, Crosby found value in seeing how local governments function behind the scenes. The experience left such a strong impression that she would “absolutely consider a career in county government.”

Adam Piejak, a geospatial science major at Kennesaw State University, completed an internship with the GIS department in Lumpkin County. Though Piejak was not previously familiar with county government operations, the internship directly aligned with his career aspirations to work in the GIS field. Over the course of his internship, Piejak’s experience confirmed his interest in GIS and helped him understand how it functions in the public sector.

Piejak’s main internship responsibility was managing the county’s transition to new GIS software. The transition required updating county data and setting up a new coordinate system. In addition to setting up the new system, Piejak assisted with archiving old data and creating procedures for maintaining future data integrity. In addition to his work on the new GIS software, Piejak contributed to public safety efforts by placing Emergency Location Markers (ELMs) around the county to support first responders. His work on the ELM project can be viewed online here.

Piejak considers his biggest success of the internship to be the development of his GIS skills in a professional setting. His time with the county offered practical insight into how GIS supports local government operations and public services. As he prepares to graduate in May, Piejak plans to consider a future career in county government.

To learn more about the GCIP, please visit the Civic Affairs Foundation website at www.accg.org/caf.

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