Ron Arruejo: Making an IMPACT

Indiana INTERNnet celebrated internship excellence on Feb. 5, 2014, at the 8^th Annual IMPACT Awards luncheon. Though the event is over and the winners have been announced, we are continuing to celebrate the nominees’ successes.

It isn’t just Ron Arruejo’s affinity for Indy’s delicious food truck offerings that motivates him to commute from Bloomington to the capitol city weekly (though we’re sure it plays a role!). It’s a hands-on internship experience with Thomas P. Miller & Associates (TPMA) that makes the travel worthwhile.

“Being able to work on a vast variety of projects from local economic development to state economic reforms and various market analyses with universities, counties and regions has given me a deeper appreciation of how interconnected the economy is with everyone and everything,” Ron said.

In 2012, Ron was placed with TPMA for his fellowship for graduate school. He has been with TPMA as an intern ever since and will continue to work with TPMA until he graduates in May 2014.

Jennifer Bellville, Ron’s supervisor at TPMA, said Ron is driven to think both analytically and creatively. His skill for analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, filtering through to discern the most relevant findings, is valuable.

“Ron’s ability to think outside the box encourages creative discussions within our organization around approaches to methodology and improving current internal practices,” Bellville said. “All in all, Ron is a joy to work with.”

His initiative has allowed him to contribute to many projects and get involved in several different areas within TPMA. He has helped improve internal practices, one of those being intern onboarding.

“Do not only say yes, but also be enthusiastic about whatever you can do at your internship,” Ron advises current and future interns. “Don’t be afraid to ask questions when you don’t know something and when you just want to know more.”

Ron is currently a Masters in Public Affairs (Public Finance Administration and Local Government Management concentrations) student at Indiana University Bloomington. He’s not sure what his plans are once he graduates, but he is hoping for a job in the local, state or federal government dealing with budgets or internal operations.

“Whatever job I obtain, I will put that knowledge [learned through my TPMA internship] into use to better both the organization and community I’m in,” he said.