Student participants say St. Johns County shadow program opened their view of local government

Students in a St. Johns County student shadow program described the experience as a hands-on introduction to local government that helped connect classroom civics to everyday services.

A participant identified in the transcript as S1, a meeting participant, said the program "is a way to like understand what's going on in our county" and called it a bridge between civics classes and what actually happens in local and state government. S1 said the program showed "how transparent our government really is" and allowed students to see "exactly what they're doing to better our lives."

Another participant (S2) said the program "introduces to you what your local government does, how it works, and how that affects the public," and added a personal reason for participating: an interest in engineering and a desire to see how government engineering functions operate in practice.

A third participant (S3) described new perspectives and connections formed during the program, saying it "gave me a new mindset" and praised interactions with fellow participants and county staff. S3 recommended the program to peers as an opportunity to learn about careers and government roles they might not otherwise encounter.

A longer reflection from a fourth participant (S4) emphasized career exploration and one-on-one conversations with professionals, saying the program helped clarify future career plans and "give[s] a better idea of how working in government could be like." S4 pointed to concrete learning moments such as "seeing where my water comes from" and noted that the program highlights the many small day-to-day actions that support the community.

Participants repeatedly recommended the program as useful for students unsure about career paths and as a way to prepare the next generation of public-sector workers. The transcript does not specify program organizers, enrollment processes, or any formal outcomes beyond participants' personal assessments.