Alumnus Billy Fleming Spends Summer in White House Internship Program

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Billy Fleming, center, with Jeff Shannon, dean of the Fay Jones School of Architecture, and Mark Boyer, head of the landscape architecture department, at the reception for the Henry Woods Student Leadership Award in April 2011.

Billy Fleming, an alumnus of the Fay Jones School of Architecture, was among more than 140 interns selected for this year’s White House Internship Program, which “makes the White House accessible to future leaders around the nation and to prepare those devoted to public service for future leadership opportunities,” according to the White House website.

During the internship, which spanned from mid-May to mid-August, Fleming was assigned to the Domestic Policy Council. He split his time between the Office of Urban Affairs and the Mobility and Opportunity Programs.

Fleming is a native of Fort Smith, the son of Bill and Jacky Fleming. During his final year at the University of Arkansas, he served as the president of the Associated Student Government. He also received the Henry Woods Student Leadership Award from the university; the Alpha Rho Chi medal from the Fay Jones School; and the Senior Honor Citation from the Arkansas Alumni Association.

After graduating with his bachelor of landscape architecture in 2011, Fleming headed to the University of Texas at Austin, where he is pursuing a master of science in community and regional planning. There, he also received a fully funded 2012 Dwight David Eisenhower Graduate Transportation Graduate Fellowship from the Technology Partnership Programs of the U.S. Department of Transportation to support his final year of study at UT.

During his summer in Washington, he also was selected as an Archer Fellow through the LBJ School of Public Policy. That is an interdisciplinary academic program for graduate students across the entire University of Texas system.

Fleming said the White House Internship Program fit well with his long-time passion for public service.

“I’ve always believed we have an obligation to serve the public in whatever capacity we’re able to – it’s what drove me to run for Associated Student Government president at the University of Arkansas, and it’s what drove me to apply for an internship at the White House this summer. As a budding landscape architect and planner, I was also drawn to the opportunity to work for a president who is invested in our nation’s cities, infrastructure, and underrepresented communities.”

With the Domestic Policy Council, Fleming has worked on a wide range of issues, such as workforce and economic development, transportation policy, place-based revitalization, and the “Let’s Move!” initiative. Through it all, the most valuable lessons have been “learning to remain objective in all of the policy and political machinations that occur, and remembering that we aren’t here to serve our own agenda,” he said.

Living and working in Washington has been a “transformative” experience for Fleming. He said he’s learned so much from his fellow interns, the staff members at the Domestic Policy Council, and other members of the administration.

Fleming is looking for a reason to return to Arkansas eventually, and he hopes his experiences this summer will allow him to contribute something unique to his home state when that day arrives.

“Being able to engage in the policy-making process has been exceptionally rewarding, and I’m sure it will serve me well as I return to graduate school and begin to contemplate my next steps,” Fleming said.