At the Boston Municipal Research Bureau Lily was able to learn so much more than she had anticipated about Boston's city government.
– Lily Murphy, Human Services and Political Science
Co-op Term: Spring 2023
Position: Research Assistant
Employer: Boston Municipal Research Bureau
Lily had a wide variety of tasks as a research assistant at the Boston Municipal Research Bureau. She attended and took notes at City Council meetings, hearings, and working sessions. She created and managed databases on City finances, personnel, and legislation. She also wrote and edited research reports and worked with research teams to analyze data.
Lily learned many different skills from her co-op. She was able to work with many different datasets and create databases in Excel to analyze data on topics including personnel trends, rent prices, Boston’s budget, and more. She gained a lot of confidence in my Excel skills throughout her co-op. By attending City Council meetings and researching key municipal government issues, she was able to learn so much more than she had anticipated about Boston’s city government. She got an in-depth look at how legislation is created and passed and how Boston’s annual budget is developed.
Lily also learned that she works best on a deadline. She initially wasn’t working efficiently because there were no set dates to finish projects. However, when she brought this up to her supervisor, he was able to provide more deadlines to help me finish projects on a faster schedule.
