Howard: Serving as Montevallo mayor’s assistant was ‘amazing’

Published 4:01 pm Tuesday, February 5, 2019

By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO – One of Katie Howard’s first tasks when she walked into Montevallo City Hall on her first day as the mayor’s assistant in November 2017 was to take notes during a meeting about street paving.

Howard, 26, said she knew little about paving, but she did what she was asked to do and started writing. Perhaps it was foreshadowing for the many times she would trek into uncharted territory over the next year as she learned about the inner workings of the city—her hometown, no less.

“It’s something new every day,” Howard says. “It’s been a lesson on thinking on your feet, and it’s been amazing.”

But the gut feeling that told her to take the Montevallo job more than a year ago seems to be the same one that told her it’s time to start a new chapter—about 14,000 miles away.

Howard marked her last day at Montevallo City Hall on Jan. 31, and in February, she begins her studies as a graduate student at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. She will be earning her Master of Media and delving into non-fiction storytelling across convergent media, learning audio production, video production and storytelling techniques.

This new chapter also marks another homecoming for Howard, who moved to Australia in 2016 after taking the advice of people she met while working for the Disney College Program in Florida to apply for a work and holiday visa. The idea was especially appealing to her since she never studied abroad in college.

“I was working in the northern part of Australia at a bar and bistro on the beach in a small town like Montevallo,” she said of her first stint there. “My visa ran out, so I decided to come home.”

She didn’t have a plan, but thought returning to Montevallo, where her parents and brother live, was a good place to start.

“I never thought I would be working in local government, but I really do think (after) being abroad for so long and coming home, I really wanted to feel connected to not only my own personal community, but try to make a difference in my community,” she said. “It’s also been really fun.”

As Mayor Hollie Cost’s assistant, Howard handled many communication- and presentation-related tasks, but she also had opportunities to help with city projects, including Thrive Together Shelby County, a 2-Gen hub for women and children.

“That has been the most meaningful to me, the most long-term project I’ve ever done,” Howard said.

She also helped organize Love Montevallo Day, a community block party event, and attended meetings at which the city’s first non-discrimination ordinance was discussed before the City Council approved it in April 2018.

“I did get to hear lots of different opinions. We hosted a forum at UMOM (University of Montevallo on Main) that I helped organize,” Howard said. “Learning how to talk to people that you don’t necessarily agree with, I think that in my future career will be invaluable to me.”

Howard will be living with a friend she previously made in Australia, and she’ll be reconnecting with her boyfriend, who she met in the Disney College Program.

What does she want to accomplish in the years to come?

“I’ve always wanted to write a screenplay that could potentially get produced,” she said. “I feel like (the program) will get me into something long-term.”

Her graduate program is a year-and-a-half. She anticipates graduating in June 2020.

Four part-time interns will shoulder many of the responsibilities of the mayor’s assistant position until a new full-time employee is hired, Howard said.

She is eager to revisit student life … and the cuisines she enjoyed the first time.

“I do love school, learning and reading,” she said, “And I’m excited to go back to the food.”

Leaving Montevallo again is bittersweet, Howard said, but her roots will always remain in her hometown.

She referenced Montevallo native and NFL player Korey Cunningham’s comments at the city’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. March several weeks ago, and said, “We really are just wanting to do good by the people that raised us.”

“I have thought a lot about leaving home,” she continued. “Sometimes, you do just want to come home, and sometimes you want to live in a community that really supports you, and know your neighbors. People like me need to be a little anonymous for a while and see some stuff, but Montevallo is always there.”