Tyler completed an internship with Monterey City Council member Tyller Williamson. His work predominately focused on assisting with the development of affordable housing policies. He summarizes his internship and describes his own personal experiences including the setbacks and accomplishments.
I spent the summer researching housing policies and writing policy recommendations based on my research. I was a part of a team of interns working under City Council-member Tyller Williamson, who I grew to respect greatly over the course of the summer. Most of my research started with a white paper written by the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership which outlines several housing policies that could help create more affordable housing in the City of Monterey. From there, I read the research of experts in urban development, pored over Monterey’s general and specific plans, and asked countless questions of people who know a lot more than I do.
I think the important thing for me to remember is to keep working and not give up.
One of the biggest things I learned over the course of the summer was to be patient. The timeline I originally planned for in terms of research and deliverables kept getting pushed back because of other larger issues the City Council had to deal with (COVID outbreak, protests, etc.). The progressive and enthusiastic side of me wanted to see immediate results. I wanted to witness the fruits of my hard work. But when it comes to systemic problems like the shortage of affordable housing in Monterey, results might not come so fast. I think the important thing for me to remember is to keep working and not give up. In spite of all the setbacks, I have hope that these big socio-economic problems that this city faces have real, practical solutions. These solutions just require some elbow grease and tenacity.
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