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The University of California Santa Cruz, California State University Monterey Bay, Cabrillo College, and other higher education campuses will see students returning to our Central Coast this fall. While there is still confusion on how the school terms will roll out with mask rules in place, one thing is certain: young students bring an abundance of value to our community. The students’ high-octane personalities bring another level of vibrance to Santa Cruz County and the Central Coast that is essential to the fabric of our region. Each school semester or quarter, the Chamber onboards young professionals to its team. Each student is assigned a project or two during their 10 to 12 weeks working side by side with the Chamber staff, our Ambassadors, and our Board members. Each student has their own set of unique talents that are put in play as the Chamber conducts our mission to be a convener of people and information while focusing on economic vitality for Santa Cruz County. The last 18-plus months have added layers of new requirements — working remotely — to promote our members and the business community. Early on during the pandemic, the Chamber put its internship program on hold. As these young professionals had “more time on their hands” not taking regular in-person classes, they yearned for ways to give back to the community and learn the benefits of volunteerism. The Chamber re-instituted our internship program last fall and throughout 2021. While most of our activities have been online via Zoom, our interns continue to shine in promoting the Chamber and its members. I wanted to give a big shout out of gratitude to our pandemic era interns — Hannah Davis, Fall 2020, Yajee (Sharon) Kwon, Fall 2020, Katelynn Yates, Spring 2021, and Lilly Stall, Spring & Summer 2021. They have displayed such a can-do attitude to help us through this remote work environment. As we have slowly returned to in-person events in a safely designed plan, our interns have jumped in to help us at planning and flawlessly implementing our events. We could not have done this without their enthusiasm and positive energy. Thank you. Over the past five years we have employed twenty-five interns. You can view the intern page here: http://www.santacruzchamber.org/interns.html I reached out to some of our past interns to get an update on where they are today in their career paths. Here are highlights from just a few: Noah Boden-Gologorsky — Spring 2019 Noah currently is a Compliance Specialist within the Unemployment Insurance Unit at the Oregon Employment Department. He will be transitioning to a new role as Predoctoral Research Fellow, working as a Research Assistant for a Professor housed in the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). Lucy Miller — Fall 2019 Since leaving the Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce Lucy has completed her first year of law school at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She spent this summer as a legal intern with the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission and looks forward to beginning her second year of law school in person this fall. David Ngo — Spring 2019 Since his internship with the Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce, David earned a bachelor's degree in Combined Economics and Mathematics from UC Santa Cruz and a master's degree in Quantitative Economics from Cal Poly. He currently works as a research analyst at OnPoint Analytics, a forensic accounting and statistical consultancy specializing in expert testimony for litigation. For a more detailed update, feel free to view his profile on the company's page. Scout Coberg —Winter 2019 Scout was accepted to UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco to get her JD. She has decided to defer her admissions and will begin her studies in the fall of 2022. In the meantime, Scout is working for the Stanislaus County Department of Education as the Assistant Director of Foothill Horizons Summer Camp and plans to continue working in education this upcoming year. Ursula Stauder — Spring & Summer 2018 Since her internship with the Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce, Ursula has been exploring her passion for data and data accessibility. She currently works as a Business Intelligence Analyst at IronSource, a leader in the ad tech industry that helps mobile apps monetize. As you can see our interns are an amazing and talented group of young professionals. The Chamber is so delighted that we played a small role in their career development. As our students return to the Central Coast, if you know of a college student who wants to explore the Chamber world, learn about the Santa Cruz County community and give back in their own way, please direct them to us here: http://www.santacruzchamber.org/internships.html.
The University of California Santa Cruz, California State University Monterey Bay, Cabrillo College, and other higher education campuses will see students returning to our Central Coast this fall. While there is still confusion on how the school terms will roll out with mask rules in place, one thing is certain: young students bring an abundance of value to our community. The students’ high-octane personalities bring another level of vibrance to Santa Cruz County and the Central Coast that is essential to the fabric of our region. Each school semester or quarter, the Chamber onboards young professionals to its team. Each student is assigned a project or two during their 10 to 12 weeks working side by side with the Chamber staff, our Ambassadors, and our Board members. Each student has their own set of unique talents that are put in play as the Chamber conducts our mission to be a convener of people and information while focusing on economic vitality for Santa Cruz County.
The last 18-plus months have added layers of new requirements — working remotely — to promote our members and the business community. Early on during the pandemic, the Chamber put its internship program on hold. As these young professionals had “more time on their hands” not taking regular in-person classes, they yearned for ways to give back to the community and learn the benefits of volunteerism. The Chamber re-instituted our internship program last fall and throughout 2021. While most of our activities have been online via Zoom, our interns continue to shine in promoting the Chamber and its members.
I wanted to give a big shout out of gratitude to our pandemic era interns — Hannah Davis, Fall 2020, Yajee (Sharon) Kwon, Fall 2020, Katelynn Yates, Spring 2021, and Lilly Stall, Spring & Summer 2021. They have displayed such a can-do attitude to help us through this remote work environment. As we have slowly returned to in-person events in a safely designed plan, our interns have jumped in to help us at planning and flawlessly implementing our events. We could not have done this without their enthusiasm and positive energy. Thank you.
Over the past five years we have employed twenty-five interns. You can view the intern page here: http://www.santacruzchamber.org/interns.html
I reached out to some of our past interns to get an update on where they are today in their career paths. Here are highlights from just a few:
Noah Boden-Gologorsky — Spring 2019
Noah currently is a Compliance Specialist within the Unemployment Insurance Unit at the Oregon Employment Department. He will be transitioning to a new role as Predoctoral Research Fellow, working as a Research Assistant for a Professor housed in the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR).
Lucy Miller — Fall 2019
Since leaving the Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce Lucy has completed her first year of law school at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She spent this summer as a legal intern with the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission and looks forward to beginning her second year of law school in person this fall.
David Ngo — Spring 2019
Since his internship with the Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce, David earned a bachelor's degree in Combined Economics and Mathematics from UC Santa Cruz and a master's degree in Quantitative Economics from Cal Poly. He currently works as a research analyst at OnPoint Analytics, a forensic accounting and statistical consultancy specializing in expert testimony for litigation.
For a more detailed update, feel free to view his profile on the company's page.
Scout Coberg —Winter 2019
Scout was accepted to UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco to get her JD. She has decided to defer her admissions and will begin her studies in the fall of 2022. In the meantime, Scout is working for the Stanislaus County Department of Education as the Assistant Director of Foothill Horizons Summer Camp and plans to continue working in education this upcoming year.
Ursula Stauder — Spring & Summer 2018
Since her internship with the Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce, Ursula has been exploring her passion for data and data accessibility. She currently works as a Business Intelligence Analyst at IronSource, a leader in the ad tech industry that helps mobile apps monetize.
As you can see our interns are an amazing and talented group of young professionals. The Chamber is so delighted that we played a small role in their career development.
As our students return to the Central Coast, if you know of a college student who wants to explore the Chamber world, learn about the Santa Cruz County community and give back in their own way, please direct them to us here: http://www.santacruzchamber.org/internships.html.