Christine Walsh ’21 is no stranger to civil service work.

Two summers ago, she interned at city hall in her hometown of Milford, CT. There, she worked alongside two other interns, assisting in the city’s community development projects.

This winter, however, Walsh’s foray into the realm of government came with a title that ranked just slight above her previous intern job: assistant mayor.

Walsh was offered the position while campaigning for local candidates in Milford, a coastal city with an estimated population of 52,536 people. Milford’s previous assistant mayor had retired at the end of 2018, and the mayor and his associates were looking for a candidate to temporarily fill the position until a more long-term replacement could be found. Walsh jumped at the opportunity.

“I am attracted to civil government because I find it [is] one of the best ways to serve my community in a tangible and effective way,” she said.

Walsh’s tenure as assistant mayor spanned almost two months, from late November to mid-January. During that time, Walsh did her share of administrative duties, such as answering phone calls and emails. Along with these more mundane assignments, Walsh was tasked with coordinating with people in the public and private sectors to complete projects, attended economic development roundtables, represented the mayor’s office at hazard mitigation meetings, and even had the chance to accompany Mayor Benjamin Blake at ribbon cuttings and other public events.

Walsh’s job allowed her to get to know Mayor Blake on a more personal level, particularly during conversations during car rides to and from public functions. The two bonded through their shared experiences as history majors. Walsh was able to learn more about Blake’s role as mayor and how he became a city leader. “Mayor Blake grew up in Milford and simply wanted to continue to make it a great place to live, work, and raise a family,” Walsh said.

The most memorable assignment for Walsh during her time as assistant mayor was a project in which a local artist was creating a mural in a railroad underpass. This effort was part of Milford’s broader beautification initiative to revitalize the city in aesthetic ways. Walsh met with the artist who would paint the mural, as well as Milford’s Arts Council Director and Economic Development Director.

“This project has been trying to get underway for the last three years or so,” Walsh said. “Finally we were surveying the space and actually formulating the plan to get everything together. That was cool to see something that I knew would be happening and could see the tangible results. I’ll probably be able to see [the mural] in the spring sometime.”

Walsh says working on projects that hope to have a tangible effect on the community was of utmost importance to her as assistant mayor. “To be able to work on projects that have the potential to benefit the daily lives of others is, for me, a way in which I feel I can serve the public good,” she said. “Government has the power to structurally change and transform people’s lives.”

While Walsh still remains uncertain about the specific details of her future career plans, she believes that her time as assistant mayor of Milford has shed some light on what she is looking for in a job as she moves forward.

“It has amplified my desire to work with people constantly, serving some kind of community,” she said.