Cody ’26 Contributes To Hometown Development As Mayor’s Intern

Despite living here his entire life, Ben Cody ’26 feels like he’s rediscovered his hometown working as an intern for Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton ’00.

“I definitely took my community for granted growing up,” said the North Montgomery High School graduate.

“I remember being in high school saying, ‘Oh, there’s nothing going on here. I’m going to move away from this place,’” the Wabash sophomore said. “This internship, being able to work behind-the-scenes, has showed me just how wrong that all is. There’s so much going on in Crawfordsville, and a lot more coming to be excited about.”

Cody, a political science major and history minor, has had an interest in government since he was a kid and originally had his sights set on spending his summer in a big city like Indianapolis or Washington, D.C.

After running into Mayor Barton last fall on campus, plans changed and he realized there is no better place to learn about public service and the day-to-day operations of city government than at the local level.

“During Bell Week, all the fraternities have pledges guard the Bell and Mayor stopped by Delta Tau Delta the day I was on duty,” explained Cody, who has known the Barton family since he was a kid. “We struck up a conversation about how school was going, my goals for the future with law school, and if I had any plans for the summer. At the end of the chat he says, ‘If you want an internship, let me know.’ I’m happy I held onto that offer.”

The City of Crawfordsville has hosted nearly a dozen interns — most of whom have been Wabash students — since Barton took office in 2012.

Mayor Barton said interns gain broad experiences during their time working for the city, learn new skills like how to solve complex problems, and develop self-confidence.

“The experiences Cody gains here will prepare him for the real world,” he said. “We prioritize teamwork and creating an environment where everyone is welcome to contribute their thoughts and ideas. As he goes forward, the hope is that bits and pieces from this internship stick with him.”

Interns are also valuable to the city, Mayor Barton said, and help local leaders incorporate the views of the next generation into their decision-making process.

“We’re focused on creating a community that our young people want to be in. They are the future of Crawfordsville,” Mayor Barton said while pointing to Cody. “But unfortunately, I don’t know the last time I can tell you somebody under the age of 30 came to a City Council meeting and spoke. It just doesn’t happen. So, they get left out of the process.

“If you look at the various projects in progress across the city, the reality is they are not necessarily for the older generation. We’re building for the next generation,” he continued. “It’s a battle for population. Today, we have hundreds of unfilled jobs and over 1,000 new jobs will be coming in the next two or three years. How are you going to fill those? You do so by attracting new residents, and, most importantly, by keeping young people here who will be starting families. So, it’s important that they contribute to the conversation.”

In addition to attending various community, board, and commission meetings and networking with city officials, Cody is responsible for three projects: reviewing and revising the city’s code of ordinances; drafting and organizing documents for the city’s sidewalk replacement program; and compiling a history of the Mayor’s Office in Crawfordsville.

Cody said tackling the ordinances has been the most interesting and challenging task. He has spent the last several weeks reviewing all ordinances — many of which he says are “old and outdated” — and then documenting suggested edits that will be reviewed and eventually voted on by the City Council.

“Part of this work includes eliminating continuity errors within the code, and getting rid of ordinances that have no place in or effect on the city today. For example, there is one ordinance listed about not using one specific color of canes on the sidewalk. I don’t know any officer or citizen that would enforce that,” Cody said with a chuckle. “The overall goal of the project is to modernize the code and make it work in conjunction with the future direction of the city.”

Cody said putting the skills he’s learned in the Wabash classroom to use, like oral and written communication, critical thinking, and leadership, has helped him thrive as an intern.

“Having the ability to carefully read, analyze, and interpret large amounts of historic text has been crucial, and that’s something that was stressed in Professor Sabrina Thomas’ (history) and Professor Scott Himsel’s (political science) classes,” Cody said. “If I hadn’t learned how to properly read and pull what’s most important, it would be really hard to do my job efficiently.”

Mayor Barton said he hopes Cody’s work inspires others to get involved in their local communities.

“You can change the world, especially the world around you, if you are willing to put in the work,” he said. “I know that Wabash students are especially equipped to do that.”

Cody plans on attending law school after Wabash and hopes to become an attorney. He’s not sure what type of law he would like to study, but is confident in where he’ll end up.

“The goal is to practice in Crawfordsville,” he said. “I could definitely see myself coming back home.”