When political science major Jonah Shabsis (SPA/BA`28) spotted Los Angeles City Council Member Tim McOsker at a Dodgers game in the summer of 2025, he did not let the moment pass. He walked up, introduced himself, and asked for a meaningful internship. That conversation led to a singular, remarkable work experience: Shabsis created a self-built, AI-integrated tool that transformed how a city field office tracks and reports constituent service issues.

Though Shabsis, who is also pursuing a minor in artificial intelligence and business analytics (Kogod School of Business), was born and raised in LA’s 5^th Council District, he deliberately sought out work in the 15^th.

“I felt like the skills that I wanted to build could be developed so much better in the 15^th Council District, with more hands-on experience, more constituent work, and a wider spectrum of problems to solve and learn from on a daily basis,” he said.

The 15^th Council District, referred to by Councilman McOsker as the “One-Five,” covers five communities: Watts, Harbor Gateway, Harbor City, Wilmington, and San Pedro, including the Port of Los Angeles. Shabsis joined the Watts field office, initially supporting constituent services and general cleanliness and safety. He harnessed his SPA training to research constituent and legal issues and quickly produced a steady stream of policy briefings.

One task seemed particularly inefficient: processing 311 service tickets. The 311 system is the city's online and phone-based portal for reporting issues such as illegal dumping, abandoned vehicles, and encampments. Each day, Shabsis would ride along on district field drives, document individual incidents, then spend hours manually uploading each one.

"I would take 75-200 photos of different instances," he explained. "Normally, I would tackle them by category, but it would still take me up to eight hours to ensure the photos were good enough and descriptions were written and saved. It was . . . a lot of tedious back and forth.

Frustrated, Shabsis again decided to apply tricks from the classroom.

"I said, 'I have this education from Kogod that taught me AI systems and data management. Why not use machine learning to help create a program? I could apply the business ethics I've learned in Kogod, as well as governance ethics from SPA, to make sure that I'm protecting people, I'm protecting jobs, and I'm really serving.’"

The result was a locally run portal he largely coded himself, designed to meet the city’s IT security standards. Using Google Scripts and a developer API key provided through his city account, he built a system that automated categorization of incidents, attached geolocation coordinates, and exported the data into formats compatible with the 311-mapping system. The four-to-eight-hour task shrunk to less than an hour. The tool also mapped reported incidents, of value for briefing McCosker and directly communicating progress to constituents. These maps clearly demonstrated very good news: most constituent complaints about unresolved issues had, in fact, already been reported and addressed.

"It was a really great example of appropriate, sustainable AI integration,” he explained. “It also shows the importance of using the tools you have to get things done."

The internship also sharpened Shabsis' interest in local government. Both parents served in the Los Angeles Mayor's office under James K. Hahn––his mother, in fact, was the first in the family to earn a degree from SPA.

On the value of his own customized education, Shabsis was direct.

"I think a political science degree is a great ‘broad strokes’ degree to have, especially if you are looking at working in governance or governance-adjacent fields, but adding Kogod AI studies takes it one step farther," he said. "Kogod has taught me how to use AI positively, and in a way to augment my weaknesses."

The internship imparted lessons that no classroom exercise could replicate, Shabsis shared. He emphasized the importance of listening––rather than immediately problem-solving––when engaging with constituents.

"Constituents appreciate it so much more when they're a part of the solution," he said. “Persistence [also matters]. When working in public office and serving constituents, the extra mile is so incredibly important.”

With aspirations for law school and a desire to return to the 15th Council District, Shabsis leaves something tangible behind at his pilot internship. His AI 311 tool was still being refined when his internship ended, two days after the Google Scripts integration finally clicked into place.