Notes from the Field: Bill Kosmidis '19 

Bill Kosmidis '19 interned with the City of Chicago Treasurer’s Office for the Winter 2018 term. The following is an excerpt from his internship report.

The City of Chicago Treasurer’s Office is the custodian and manager of all cash and investments for the City of Chicago, the four City employee pension funds, and the Chicago Teacher’s Pension Fund. Additionally, the Treasurer’s Office manages a number of programs that promote financial education and small business growth in Chicago’s neighborhoods. The Treasurer is one of three city-wide elected officials in the City of Chicago, with the Mayor and the Clerk being the others.  

My role as an intern was to directly assist the Chief Operating Officer and the Special Advisor to the City of Chicago Treasurer, Kurt Summers. My major projects consisted of completing a PowerPoint deck for quarterly earnings call (creating slides pertaining to national economic statistics, local Chicago economic statistics, and economic theories) that was presented to over 50 community members, investors, and other political figures through a webinar. I also assisted in the creation and editing process of countless memos for Treasurer Summers. Lastly, I compiled press lists of local and national media outlets to be used for press releases for the activities in the office.

I plan to apply the new knowledge and experiences I gained during this experience as a constant reminder of how I can contribute to my community through public service. This internship was wonderful in shedding light on how one official can make a difference through public policy.  

I now know what a career in the public sector looks like, and this has informed the way I hope to guide my career in the future.  The skills I learned here have made me a better writer and researcher due to the mentorship I received from my supervisor and other leaders in the office.  I look forward to keeping in touch with everyone in the office and reflecting back on my time here in order to better inform future career decisions and aspirations I have in life.

Thank you so much to the Rockefeller Center for supporting me while I interned at the City Treasurer’s Office. Specifically, I would like to express my gratitude as the John E. Rosenwald Jr. Named Intern for the Winter 2018 term. I couldn’t be more honored to be directly supported by the generous contribution from the Rosenwald Family.