Apply for the 2025 Youth Internship Program

Published on March 04, 2025

Applications are open for the 2025 Bob Turner Scholar Intern Program, a partnership between the City of Salinas and the International City/County Management Association. Current Juniors and graduating Seniors that attend a high school in Salinas are can apply. The internship is an 8-week program with a time commitment of an average of 15 hours per week. 

Here's what to expect:

• Each intern will be assigned a project related to a City program or issue.
• They will receive direct mentorship from the Community Relations Manager and have opportunities to work with the City Manager and City departments on their projects.
• The project will include creating a community engagement plan and providing recommendations to the City Manager.
• There will be 2 required final project presentations - in-person to the City Council and virtually to ICMA.
• The presentation to the City Council will be an overview of their project and PowerPoint presentation. 
• The virtual ICMA presentation will be a Public Service Announcement (PSA) to define what local government is and how to get their peers civically engaged. This PSA will be developed with 2 -3 other interns participating in the program as part of their monthly cohort calls.

Each intern will receive:

• A $2,500 stipend upon completion of the internship
• Complimentary ICMA membership for two years
• If the intern is 18 years of age by the time of the conference, they will receive complimentary registration to the ICMA Annual Conference in Tampa, FL (October 25 - 29, 2025)
• Complimentary subscription to PM Magazine
• A tailored cohort experience including biweekly cohort calls with the other Bob Tuner Interns from across the country
• Access to ICMA’s Local Government 101 online certificate program

Minimum Requirements:

• Must be a current high school Junior or Senior in Salinas
• Be available in-person an average of 15 hours for week for 8 weeks, between June 9, 2025 - August 1, 2025. Accommodations may be made on a case-by-case basis for things like pre-scheduled time off and emergencies, but when making up hours, the intern cannot work more than 25 hours in a single week and must have a total of 120 hours completed by August 1, 2025, to have successfully completed the program. 
• Be available for a final in-person presentation to the Salinas City Council (tentatively scheduled for August 12, 2025, at 5PM) and a virtual presentation to ICMA (tentatively scheduled for late July/early August).
• Work collaboratively with the Community Relations team, City staff, and stakeholders and conduct themselves in a professional manner as a representative of the City. 
• If selected, interns must complete a Live Scan background check at City Hall, at no cost to the intern.

Applications deadline is March 23, 2025, at 11:59 PM.

If you have questions, please contact:

Sophia Rome, Community Relations Manager, City of Salinas

sophiar@ci.salinas.ca.us or 831-758-7407