Editor: Rita Venant is a student at Wake Forest University and reflects on her summer internship.

The Queen City is no longer a place I recognize. Growing up just 25 minutes from Uptown, the heart of the city, I have personally witnessed Charlotte’s rapid growth. I have seen the creation of the Light Rail, the construction of the BB&T ballpark, the expansion of University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and many more additions.

It was not until I went off to college at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem that I realized the positive development of Charlotte let alone truly appreciate her beauty. Because of my experiences in college–living in another city for the first time in my life that I was old enough to remember and spending a semester living and working in Washington, D.C. — I was eager to find a political and/or communications focused internship in Uptown for the summer. I am pleased to intern for at-large Councilwoman Dimple Ajmera this summer. Continue Reading