Community Fellows Blog Posts

Imagine working for the government. Does the process look fun? What are the employees like? You might picture something extremely slow, tedious, and boring. Wrong! Government work is the total opposite from those things. When I started my position as the food system policy and research fellow, I had that same impression: Is this going to be boring? Approaching my senior year at Santa Clara University, the workload and classes were creeping up to me. I was scared that I could not balance my life at school and at work. Moreover, what were the people like? My mind was racing with thoughts of adjusting to work, school and new people. This will be a whole different environment! However, I was just as excited by the new possibilities and the challenges that I would be facing. 

On my first day, I was met with overflowing kindness from my coworkers. Many welcomed me into the office and the team. The responsibilities for my position started off slowly, but once goals were outlined and objectives were set, I started running. As I felt more comfortable in the work setting, I began to introduce myself to more people in my inner team and within the office space. As of writing this, I have yet to meet everyone in the office, but I’m making progress towards that goal. One detail that I really love about working in the county is the opportunities I get to meet people. On a daily basis, I conduct research and read documents at my desk, but there are events every other week or once a week where I do something outside of my assigned tasks. Going on side quests has also helped me understand the work from a broader perspective. My work is important because it eventually goes towards the community. Not only do I work with lovely people each and every day, but I also meet people in the community and people who serve this entire community of Santa Clara. 

On the topic of meeting people in the workspace, I’ve developed some of the most profounding and important relationships in my life. Every person I have met has shown compassion and assistance towards me and to the rest of the team. It became my goal to learn more about compassion and uplifting attitude. I took this idea from my business-179 class and it has been a game changer in all my conversations. Each week, I choose a person to interview and get to learn more about. I introduce myself to the person and ask if they would be interested to do a 20-minute conversation with me about their professional career. We would schedule a time during the day to talk and it gives me a chance to develop that deeper bond with my coworkers. It was hard to do at first because it’s not easy mustering up the courage to ask people to talk to me, especially ones who have never met me. However, after doing my first one, it gave me the courage to talk to new people and keep the ball rolling. The advice I received has helped me tremendously on how I want to approach this fellowship and what potential paths that might open up when this experience comes to an end.

Looking Ahead: 

Every time I walk into the office, I am thrilled by the potential chance to meet a new person every day. As I learn more about the people in my office, I feel comforted and empowered. Not only does my work feel fulfilling for the community, but I get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet some truly awesome people

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