Essay Contest

The Human Resources Department invites your 12th grade students to enter its 17th annual Public Service Recognition Week Essay Contest.

Essay contest participants are asked to write about how they would make a difference as an employee of Houston Municipal Government.

2008 Winners Announced

1st Place
Patty Soong, Mirabeau B. Lamar Sr. High School, HISD

2nd Place
Nashid Shinthia, Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions, HISD

3rd Place
Luyang Jin, Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions, HISD

4th Place
Margay Dean, Clear Lake High School, Clear Creek ISD

5th Place
Stacey Isidro, Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions, HISD

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Essay Rules

Requirements:
Essay must be:

• 500 words or less, typewritten and double-spaced, with one-inch margins on all four sides.
• Accompanied by a title page showing the student’s name, complete address, including street or apartment number, city and zip code, phone number with area code, school name with phone number including area code and supervising teacher’s name. Include your e-mail address if you have one. Staple the title page to the essay. Do not write any identifying information on the essay itself.
• Composed by a senior from a Houston area high school (see list of eligible school districts)
• Organized in the following manner: thesis statement, arguments, conclusion.

Essays that do not comply with the above requirements will automatically be eliminated.

Selection Criteria:
The winning essays will be selected on the basis of:

• Organization and accurate presentation
• Creativity
• Proper spelling, grammar and punctuation

We encourage students to interview one or more city employees working in the jobs they write about.

Contest Prizes:

• First prize: $2,000 scholarship
• Second prize: $1,000 scholarship
• Third prize: $600 scholarship
• Fourth prize: $400 scholarship
• Fifth prize: $300 scholarship

Fiesta will also give $350 to the school attended by the first-place winner to be used by the winner’s supervising teacher to further enrich the students’ classroom experience and $350 to the school with the most entries in the final round of judging.

Topic: Making a Difference in the Houston Municipal Government Career You Choose
Use one of the careers on the attached list of city jobs or choose a different city career and write an essay about the following topic:
If I were a _____________, What a Difference I Would Make.

Deadline:
Essays will be accepted by mail only and must be postmarked no later than Saturday, March 21, 2009.

Mail to:
Essay Contest
City of Houston Human Resources Department
611 Walker, 4A
Houston, Texas 77002

Download essay rules

Download essay flyer

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Job Descriptions

Below are brief descriptions of some city of Houston jobs. You may want to write or draw about one of these jobs. If not, there are thousands more city jobs you can write or draw about including those in the Mayor, City Controller, City Council, and City Secretary’s offices. Click here for a complete list of job classifications.

311
311 Telecommunicator: Uses customer service and communications skills on the phone to find answers to a vast range of questions posed by residents. 

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Contract Compliance Officer:  Interviews city contractors and vendors to monitor their compliance with contract regulations. Recruits and maintains contractors, vendors, and licensees. Audits certified payrolls to verify payment of prevailing wage rates. Promotes the division’s programs at trade fairs and community meetings. Conducts certification classes for the Minority, Women, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and the Persons with Disabilities Business Enterprise programs.

Community Involvement Coordinator:  Plans, coordinates, and conducts seminars for small businesses. Writes press releases and articles for the department newsletter; establishes and maintains community liaisons; promotes programs among community groups.

Affirmative Action Specialist:  Investigates employee discrimination and equal employment opportunity complaints and counsels employees. Reports investigation findings and recommends corrective actions. Monitors city departments to ensure compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action programs.

construction contractors, maintenance personnel, and safety and security agents.

AVIATION DEPARTMENT
Airport Manager: Oversees all operations at an airport serving millions of travelers and thousands of flights every year. Coordinates operations with airlines, employees, construction contractors, maintenance personnel, and safety and security agents.

Graphic Arts Specialist: Designs educational illustrations about the airports and air travel that inform and capture public interest. Develops brochures and videos that promote air travel using city airports. (Many departments employ graphic arts specialists.)

Properties Specialist: Administers and coordinates land development and leases and manages airport rental properties. Develops and coordinates activities at the airports from food concessions to rental car companies and airline services.

Special Services Representative: Uses multilingual skills to help foreign and domestic travelers through the airports and to give them visitor information. 

Event Coordinator: Responsible for nearly every aspect of events held at George R. Brown Convention Center, Jones Hall and Wortham Center.  Present at all events to ensure proper management of event operations.

Engineering tech, George R. Brown Convention Center: Using AutoCad software, this person creates computerized floor plans of how the exhibit halls and meetings rooms at the George R. Brown can be set up during conventions, corporate meetings and social galas. Also creates diagrams to showcase how future development and capital projects will impact existing properties.

311 Telecommunicator: Uses customer service and communications skills on the phone to find answers to a vast range of questions posed by residents. 

FIRE DEPARTMENT
Arson Investigator: Investigates fires, collects evidence, interviews witnesses and suspects and takes written statements.  Also documents the investigation with photographs and reports and testifies on the findings in court.

Paramedic: Provides emergency medical care.  Evaluates, treats and transports the sick and injured at emergency scenes.

Firefighter: Fights fires, rescues victims, maintain fire stations and fire vehicles and performs other duties as an entry-level firefighter.

Hazardous Materials Response Team: Performs site assessment, victim removal, search and rescue, container evaluation, threat assessment, smoke and toxic gas ventilation, identification and analysis of the material, and evacuation. Establishes a safe work area.

Rescue Team: Rescues victims of vehicle and industrial entrapments, tunnels, swift water, confined spaces, structural collapse and trench cave-ins.

Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting: Certified emergency medical technicians provide a safe exit path for and timely rescue of aircraft accident victims.

Firestoppers Councilor: Provides education and prevention for children who have played with or set fires before further injury, death or problems with the law.

GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT
Senior Project Manager: Oversees design and construction contracts for city facilities such as police and fire stations, libraries and office buildings.

Architect: Oversees selection of design architects who design city projects and facilities. Negotiates design, engineering and landscape architecture contracts.

Licensed Engineer: Manages building design and construction. Analyzes building structures and approves city facilities’ design plans.

Energy Engineer: Acquires the electricity and natural gas needed to operate city buildings and facilities, then manages the energy those sources create. Training in mechanical engineering and thermal sciences is required. Proficiency in lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, building design specifications and water and wastewater processes also required.

Property Manager: Responds first to emergencies in city buildings. Responsible for safety of people in buildings and operation and maintenance of the buildings’ structure, their mechanical systems and landscape architecture.

Chief Stationary Engineer: Supervises the daily operation of a city physical plant and maintenance of the building facility, Ensures proper energy conservation and water treatment.

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT
Animal Control Officer: Impounds stray, diseased and dangerous animals. Investigates animal ordinance violations.

Veterinarian: Examines, gives shots and performs surgery on animals.

Dentist: Helps prevent tooth decay, provides healthy eating habits and dental hygiene, fills cavities and provides other corrective services for children and pregnant women.

Environmental Quality Specialist: Investigates and regulates air and water quality complaints by citizens and industry.

Sanitarian: Monitors and inspects restaurants' compliance with health codes and regulations and provides educational services for restaurant owners/managers.

Epidemiologist: Conducts disease investigations and works to identify disease sources. Provides statistical analysis of the community's health for planning and prevention.

Senior Planner: Performs administrative and comprehensive planning activities.  Provides information assistance and consultation to professional organizations, developers, business community and general public. Monitors and makes recommendations on various projects and programs conducted by external departments, agencies and organizations. 

Community Involvement Coordinator: Functions as a liaison between the department, community civic clubs and organizations to promote and coordinate department programs.  Entertains suggestions from civic groups and apprises management of issues, concerns and needs. Helps to promote and coordinate special event activities among staff, media and the community. Provides information and referral services to the community at large. 

HOUSTON EMERGENCY CENTER
9-1-1 Telecommunicator: Answers emergency calls from people who need firefighters, police or an ambulance. Must be calm and courteous when faced with critical situations.

Field Safety Representative: Investigates on-the-job accidents and accidents involving city vehicles.  Audits jobs with regard to safe working conditions. Teaches classes in defensive driving, first aid, CPR, back safety, etc.

Workers’ Compensation Case Manager: Oversees doctors and insurance company third-party administrators as they care for injured workers. Makes sure employees see the appropriate physician for their injuries. Develops and implements policies for the return-to-work program and trains supervisors to use the program.

Employee Assistance Program Counselor: Confidentially counsels city employees and their families. Helps employees cope with substance abuse, emotional distress and marital, family or legal problems.

System Consultant: Provides technical advice to assist identify and resolve computer system problems. Reviews and investigates application system to diagnose problems and offer solutions. Designs, codes and implements complex complex computer programs and acts as project leader.

Computer Operator: Directs, controls, and monitors mainframe computer operations. Performs routine maintenance and troubleshooting of mainframe computer equipment and peripherals.

Legal Assistant: Performs legal research and drafting of legal documents under the supervision of a licensed attorney. This requires a thorough understanding of both theoretical and practical aspects of the practice of law. Prepares and maintains case files and assists attorneys in trial preparation. Performs investigative functions and researches legal issues in preparation of court cases. Monitors the filing of pleadings with both the district and federal courts.

Assistant City Attorney: Prosecutes violations in municipal courts; initiate and defend civil litigation matters involving and on behalf of the city and elected officials in federal and state district courts; prepares opinions and ordinances, and provides legal advice to city departments and agencies.

Librarian IV, Assistant Coordinator: Helps develop system collections to support the library. Implements needed changes. Conducts training and orientation at agencies. Represents the library in professional organizations and in the community. 

Librarian V, Coordinator of Youth Services: Coordinates youth services in entire system, supervises After School Programs Inspire Reading Enrichment program (ASPIRE). Plans, develops and implements new services for youth. Meets with government officials, business and professional representatives and promotes library services through community agencies. 

Municipal Courts CSR II Bond Admin.: Duties include performing general clerical functions using software application to generate reports. Accurately performs data entry function to enter citations. Completes Bond Appeals for attorneys and bondsmen. Interacts daily with law enforcement officers and prosecutors and attorneys.

Scanning CSR I: Counts, batches and scans citations received from law enforcement agencies.  Codes violations on citations and retrieve accident reports via online services. Issues citation booklets to law enforcement agencies. Interacts with officers, prosecutors and court personnel.

Bailiff: Attends all sessions of the court and remain until dismissed by the judge. Conducts physical courtroom inspection for security prior to and at the end of each session. Monitors and conducts daily inspections of all security equipment such as duress alarms, fire alarms, telephones and intercoms, fire extinguishers, and first aid kits. Inspect and search persons and personal effects for weapons at the discretion of the judge. Assist in seating court participants, spectators and jurors. Perform opening and closing ceremonies of the court. Enforces courtroom rules of behavior and issues warnings as needed. Enforces orders of contempt, secures defendant and assisting in processing contempt expeditiously for transfer of defendant to jail personnel for booking. Assist in verifying warrants against defendants on docket for pending cases. Serves citations relating to matters of the court when necessary to expedite trial or court procedures.
Provide security both inside and outside of courthouse building.

Municipal Court Judge: Responsible for arraignments, jury trials, court trials, pleas and sentencing.

Court Reporter: The official recorder and records custodian for trials and appeals. Provides verbatim recording of court proceedings using stenography, manual shorthand, closed microphone recording and/or direct recording at the court’s discretion. 

Deputy Director of Facilities Development and Maintenance: Directs and manages the design and development of parks and supervises maintenance and construction personnel.

Horticulturist: Operates greenhouses, maintains plant beds and foliage, buys horticultural supplies and plants, provides updates on plant diseases and insect problems, presents programs to garden clubs and other organizations.

Golf Pro: Manages city golf courses, handles finances, gives golf lessons, schedules golf tournaments and serves as game official.

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Neighborhood Planner: Works with communities to revitalize and stabilize neighborhoods.  Helps neighborhood civic and business groups organize and tackle issues in their community, such as developing new housing, providing additional parks and green space, bringing new businesses into the area and reducing neighborhood blight.

Historic Preservation Officer: Analyzes properties for historic and archaeological significance and presents requests for historic designation to the Archaeological and Historical Commission. Provides education to neighborhoods about the benefit of historic preservation.

Geographic Information Computer Specialist: Builds a database containing links to geographic locations in the city from which detailed maps are produced. (For instance, maps may show data such as land use; demographic data, like age, race, gender and average income in areas where city facilities are located.)  Elected officials and government agencies use these maps for policy-making decisions.

Community Service Inspectors: Serves on neighborhood protection team that investigates dangerous buildings, overgrown weeds, junk cars and trash and housing code violations. Inspectors also testify in court at dangerous building hearings, participate in civic meetings, block walks, community cleanups and code enforcement.

Canine Officer: Uses dogs to search for suspects, evidence, lost persons, narcotics and explosives and to maintain crowd control. Investigates prowler calls and backs up regular patrol units. Feeds and grooms police dogs.

Mounted Officer: Part of an elite force that rides horses while maintaining order, handling crimes and disturbances and responding to requests in the downtown area.

Juvenile Sex Crimes/Physical Abuse Investigator: Interviews complainants and witnesses, including physicians and caseworkers. Reviews referrals of child sexual abuse allegations and makes reports. Reviews medical reports pertinent to sex crimes and/or physical abuse investigations. Performs computer criminal history checks, driver license inquiries and tracks suspects by patterns or modus operandi. Presents cases to district attorney's office for charges.

School Task Force Officer: Provides help to and acts as a liaison with school district administrators and police officers. Investigates incidents off campus that might relate to the school. Enforces traffic, curfew and truancy laws. Enforces laws and ordinances near schools, particularly weapons, criminal trespass, assault and liquor or narcotics violations. Patrols parks, game rooms and areas near schools.

Forensic Artist: Uses the FBI Facial Identification Catalog and interviews crime victims to draw pictures of suspects to help officers catch criminals.

PUBLIC WORKS & ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Graduate Engineer: (Civil) Provides engineering assistance in identifying and evaluating parameters and trends to minimize/prevent customer complaints. Reviews data to ensure compliance with plans, contracts, regulations, etc. Performs and reviews engineering calculations to develop statistical data. Reviews, researches, analyzes and prepares various records, reports and other data. Conducts field studies and inspections. Investigates and responds to inquiries from technical personnel and the general public on design criteria and project specifications. Evaluates drawings, plans and specifications. Communicates directly and indirectly with contractors to resolve disputes and ensure technical quality.

PUBLIC WORKS OPERATIONS MANAGER: Enacts policy originating from the Mayor or department administrators; develops, maintains and interprets policy, ensuring consistent application. Plans, organizes, directs and reviews various operations, facilities and personnel. Coordinates activities with other divisions and departments, cooperates with related outside agencies, committees and civil associations.  Maintains current knowledge of technological and legislative changes, which affect activities and initiates actions made necessary by such changes. Develops productivity measures and monitors performance of personnel.  Prepares and implements plans for meeting Federal, State, and City legislative requirements

BIKEWAY PROGRAM COORDINATOR (SENIOR STAFF ANALYST): Performs administrative functions in the planning, analysis, and coordination of the Houston Bikeway Program. Plans and develops future projects based on existing conditions, future needs and public input. Works with project engineers to track scope, design, and budget for bicycle and pedestrian projects. Works with the Houston Police Department on setting enforcement priorities.  Serves as a resource person to area school districts.  Develops bicycle and pedestrian policies and projects. Coordinates special projects, including planning, research, presentations, promotions, and evaluations.  Acts as a liaison between the city public and various bicycle advocacy groups.

Automated Collection Truck Driver: Operates the truck and high-tech equipment to collect residential garbage from the curb. Also answers citizens’ questions about automated garbage collection.

Dead Animal Crew: Collects dead animals from city streets and rights of way.  Answers questions from the public about the retrieval of dead animals throughout the city.

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Essay Important Dates

Deadline for entries:
Deadline is March 21, 2009.
Sign up for e-mail updates here.

Awards ceremony:
May 8, 2009

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2008 Winners Announced

1st Place
Patty Soong, Mirabeau B. Lamar Sr. High School, HISD, "If I Were a Bicycle-Pedestrian Coordinator, What a Difference I Would Make." Supervising teacher: Amy Murdock. Patty won a $2,000 scholarship donated by the Indo-American Charity Foundation.

2nd Place
Nashid Shinthia, Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions, HISD, "If I Were a Librarian V, Coordinator of Youth Services, What a Difference I Would Make." Supervising teacher: Margo Hicks. Nashid won a $1,000 scholarship donated by the Indo-American Charity Foundation.

3rd Place
Luyang Jin, Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions, HISD, "If I Were a Court Translator, What a Difference I Would Make." Supervising teacher: Margo Hicks. Luyang won a $600 scholarship donated by Fiesta Mart Inc.

4th Place
Margay Dean, Clear Lake High School, Clear Creek ISD, "If I Were a Communications Specialist, What a Difference I Would Make." Supervising teacher:Christopher Guajardo. Margay won a $400 scholarship from Fiesta Mart Inc.

5th Place
Stacey Isidro, Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions, HISD, "If I Were a Golf Pro,, What a Difference I Would Make." Supervising teacher: Margo Hicks. Stacey won a $300 scholarship donated by Fiesta Mart Food Stores.

Teacher of the 1st place winner
Fiesta Mart Inc. will give $350 to the first-place winner’s school, Mirabeau B. Lamar Sr. High School, to be used by the student’s supervising teacher, Amy Murdock, to enrich classroom education.

School with most essays in final round
Fiesta will give $350 to Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions, the school with the most essays in the final round of judging.

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Essay Contest Contact

Contest coordinator:
Bobby Vasquez
City of Houston, Human Resources
611 Walker, 4-A
Houston, TX 77002

(713) 837-9335
bobby.vasquez@cityofhouston.net

Sign up for e-mail updates here.