For 2018, President Margaret Moggia tasked the CSMFO board members to manage ad hoc working groups that would explore various topic areas. I was thrilled to begin working on student engagement because I am passionate about sharing how rewarding a municipal finance career can be, professionally and personally.

How many of us knew about municipal finance careers when we were in school? Who heard of these opportunities at career fairs or from counselors? Our working group wants to find the best ways of connecting students to our field of work and to establish relationships with students so that they will look to CSMFO as a resource to build their careers. The purpose of our group’s work this year is the following: 1) Reach out to graduate and undergraduate students in political science, public administration, accounting and finance to let them know about CSMFO and what we offer; 2) Promote municipal finance as a rewarding career choice; and 3) Increase the number of student memberships.

Finding opportunities to connect with students has been one of our top priorities because this is where we can provide education and pique student interest. So far this year, we have hosted events at UC Berkeley and CSU Dominguez Hills, with additional events planned at San Francisco State University, Cal Lutheran, and CSU Long Beach. We are trying different event formats so that we can get a sense as to what works best. At the end of the year, we will provide a summary of our experiences and suggestions for future events. This summer, we began offering an internship program as a way to connect students to agencies. Students who attended our campus events were invited to upload their resumes to the CSMFO website so that our members could have a direct source for summer internship recruitments. Moving forward, we plan to make this program more robust with better marketing to our members and to students through our outreach efforts.

We are also identifying ways to expand student membership. We offered complimentary memberships to students who posted resumes on the CSMFO website and to the recipients of CSMFO’s Odell Scholarships. In addition, at their August meeting, the CSMFO Board approved eliminating student membership dues ($20/year) beginning in calendar year 2019. The Membership Committee and Student Engagement Working Group supported this action because it is one more step in removing barriers to student participation. Our group also plans to roll out an end of year survey to student members so that we can gauge their level of participation and other ways that we can add value for them.

It is such a privilege working in municipal finance and in CSMFO because the caliber of our colleagues, their creativity and dedication, is unparalleled. This working group has been leading me since its inception and I couldn’t be gladder to support its efforts. If you are interested in learning more about what we are doing, participating, or making suggestions, please contact me at jwakeman@ci.lafayette.ca.us.

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About the Author

Jennifer Wakeman has been working in municipal finance for nearly 16 years, starting at the Town of Moraga and the City of Walnut Creek before landing at the City of Lafayette. This is her second year serving as a Northern California CSMFO Board Member, a role she is thoroughly enjoying. Jennifer lives in Lafayette and spends most of her non-working time corralling her three sons: Jack (8 years old), Madden (6 years old), and Emmett (1 year old).