There's learning that happens in class, and the kind that can only occur beyond its four walls.

Just ask current students Ray Kalmanowitz, Sasha Altman or any of the other 23 City Management Fellows, who have each spent 10 weeks each summer entrenched in local communities to translate their passion for public service into much-needed support for Delaware cities and municipalities.

"When you do something at the local level, you see the people that it affects," said Kalmanowitz, who worked in Sussex County for the summer of 2025. "For better and for worse, you know these people, you know their stories."

This spring, UD will recruit its eighth class of City Management Fellows. Established in 2019 to attract talented young professionals into local government, the summer program places students with city and town managers, where they gain a firsthand account of the issues that touch the lives of Delawareans.

"Local government offers students the opportunity to be immersed in issues that touch the lives of Delaware residents-water, wastewater, planning, land use, economic development," said Lisa Moreland Allred, who manages the program alongside Julia O'Hanlon, staff liaison to the Delaware League of Local Governments.

Fellows don't just observe-they produce work that municipalities actually utilize. On any given day, students may be tasked with drafting policy documents, conducting fiscal and operational research, and developing strategic plans that shape how towns function, all while making meaningful contributions to their assigned cities and towns.

"All politics is local, as anyone who's ever experienced a sewer backup can attest," said Allred.

"We have a lot of small municipalities in the state that don't have a lot of staff resources. This program helps support local governments while giving students hands-on experience. There's often a lot of focus on federal and state management in the curriculum, but this is a way to expose students to very local Delaware-specific issues," added O'Hanlon.