Radu Casapu was no stranger to county government operations when he began his internship with Hall County’s Planning and Zoning Department this summer. A master's candidate in city and regional planning at Georgia Tech, Casapu previously attended and observed board of commissioners’ meetings and neighborhood planning meetings. The Georgia County Internship Program (GCIP) put him on the other side of the table. Working closely with county planners, Casapu gained hands-on experience in long-range planning by updating the county's comprehensive plans.

Though not originally from Hall County, Casapu was drawn to the opportunity to work in the public sector and apply his graduate studies to the real world. Katie Ahmed, Hall County Planning and Zoning Director, found it valuable that he was not from Hall County. His outside perspective on the county proved useful, giving him an open mind to how residents might think. “It was not always what you’d expect,” Ahmed noted, especially when it came to opinions on growth management. The diversity of perspectives he experienced in the county expanded on what he learned in the classroom.

Casapu’s core project was an update to Hall County’s comprehensive plans and the Unified Development Code (UDC). He identified, collected, and requested a variety of data for the comprehensive plan updates, and worked with county planners to outline goals and set directions for further research and future planning. He also observed current conditions in the county and identified areas that needed updating for the 2027 comprehensive plan.

Drawing on his master’s program work, Casapu researched and presented new strategies for the county to consider as it pursues new goals in affordable housing and greenspace management. Ahmed trusted Casapu to work independently and present his own solutions to the planning team. “She’s given me the liberty to come up with the things that I think are best,” he said.

One of Casapu’s key contributions was tracking public input for UDC and comprehensive plan updates. Casapu compiled comments from online submissions and public outreach meetings, transforming them into data summaries and maps. He was able to attend the meetings in person, which challenged him to engage with the public directly and field a variety of comments. Casapu even handled live Q&A sessions during the meetings, representing the county on a public-facing stage. Ahmed noted that Casapu’s handling of the Q&As was one of her proudest moments of the internship: “It was really impressive,” she said.

As it was his first time working in a county, Ahmed wanted to structure the internship so that, in addition to his project work, Casapu experienced multiple county roles and responsibilities, from employee to consultant to planner. He had the chance to shadow people in each role and attend a variety of meetings with partners and clients, from the Department of Community Affairs to the county’s comprehensive plan consultants. Casapu also helped select members for stakeholder committees and prepared presentations for committee meetings.

In addition to hands-on work with the county during the internship, Casapu had the unique opportunity to continue his education in planning and county operations. He completed Carl Vinson Institute of Government (CVIOG) training courses from the University of Georgia in Planning 101, Planning 102, Ethics, and Open Meetings Open Records – broadening his perspective on how counties function.

“I’ve enjoyed it all,” Casapu said. He noted that the internship was a near-perfect fit for him, as it allowed him to practice long-range planning and apply his studies and interests in local government. He also realized how much he enjoys the smaller, localized scale of county government – “it feels more impactful,” he noted. And he’s not done with Hall County quite yet: he is interested in using the county as the focus of a research paper for his final year in graduate school.

Casapu is not the only one benefiting from the internship. Contributions such as maps, datasets, and planning recommendations will assist county planning staff far beyond the summer. “He’s leaving a little legacy,” Ahmed said. Through GCIP, Casapu transitioned from observing local government to actively contributing to it, leaving a lasting mark on the county he served.