Erick Barrientos: An Eventful First Start
For this year’s 2019 Leavey School of Business Community Fellows Program, I have been placed as the Education Programs intern for the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley (HFSV). This non-profit organization prides itself on serving the Silicon Valley Latino/a community by providing scholarships and leadership & education programs. HFSV emphasizes a “cradle to career” philosophy through which the organization implements programs that cater to a range of people from students in Kindergarten, to parents who are looking to enhance their leadership skills, or help their son or daughter get in to college.
In my first few weeks as an intern at HFSV, I have been amazed at the amount of work that a team of seven can achieve in a non-profit organization. I was able to experience the pride and personal fulfillment that each HFSV member feels about their job when I worked the Foundation’s 30th Hispanic Foundation Charity Ball in October. A team of seven HFSV employees and many gracious volunteers put on an event for nearly 900 people. I was able to witness first-hand the passion and excitement that every attendee had for helping Silicon Valley Latinos/as receive opportunities to succeed in their future endeavors. The foundation had a goal of raising $40,000 for the night and ended up raising over $100,000, with many donors taking a moment to come to the microphone to speak out on why they believe their investment in the Foundation is one of significant importance to the future of Silicon Valley Latinos/as.
My experience at the ball allowed me to bond closely with my fellow co-workers. I was in charge of the raffle ticket give-away and then given the duty of being the “runner” to let attendees know that it was their time to go up on stage. I had the privilege of meeting the mayor of San Jose, various Congresspeople, and other impactful donors that were all so excited to hear about my work as an intern. Throughout the whole night the HFSV team checked in on me to ensure that I was okay in my role, and by working this event for a full day, we found many ways to connect and create fun memories.
As my internship continues I am excited to conduct research on the San Mateo County area as the HFSV is now expanding into this county. I will be looking for places and partnerships to implement programs like Girls Who Code, SAT prep courses, and English as a second language classes. I will also be updating the HFSV scholarship book resulting in an accessible resource about available college scholarship opportunities that students and parents can use. The most exciting part of this internship is that the work that I’m currently doing is just a small fraction of the overall good I can do for the community, and I am very excited to find more opportunities to make a difference.