CCNY White House intern urges peers to consider public service

City College of New York senior Troy Blackwell spent the last months of the Obama administration in Washington, DC, as a White House intern. On Wednesday, Feb. 22, the Ad/PR and political science double major encourages his City College peers to consider public service careers in a public conversation with them.  

Entitled “The Value of Public Service,” the event is from 12: 45 to 2 p.m. in Shepard Hall room 290. It is co-sponsored by the CCNY chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America, the department of media and communications arts and the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership.

 “I’ll talk about the different ways people can get involved in advocacy, offer a behind the scenes look at effective advocacy and government relations, and share the importance of citizen engagement in community issues,” said Blackwell.

He’s returned to CCNY this semester after spending the fall interning in the White House’s   Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs. He worked under Valerie Jarrett, the Office’s director and a senior advisor to President Obama.

The internship added to the Elmont, Long Island, resident’s many honors in his four years at CCNY.  Blackwell’s other accolades include a Colin Powell Fellowship, a Weston Public Service Fellowship, the Art Stevens/PRSA-NY Scholar award, a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship and a Stanford/CCNY Summer Research Program internship.

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