Julian Cabrera: So Much Learned
As an LSB Community Fellow, I am interning with the City of San Jose. I’m specifically working in the Office of Economic Development. The Office of Economic Development is focused on creating an environment in San Jose where every type of business can thrive, from small mom and pop shops to larger corporations who have a vested interest in doing long term business in San Jose and the Silicon Valley.
I have been working in the Office of Economic Development for several weeks now and have already gained many different insights about the office and about the City of San Jose as a whole. The people that work in the office are amazing individuals who are assigned with very distinct tasks. One person could be working with businesses in downtown San Jose, while another could be working on a single important project and someone else be working as a facilitator for smaller businesses. Yet, the most interesting and welcoming aspect of the office has been the cohesion among coworkers and the willingness to help one another.
The support I received from my coworkers has been very helpful in my transition into the office. In my role, I work on preparing grant contracts to smaller businesses who wish to improve their outdoor storefront area or to businesses who wish to improve a certain aspect of the interior of their building. I was initially surprised by the amount of trust the office gave me in managing this project because I didn’t have any experience in this type of work. Yet, through their support I was able to grasp the idea of it and do my job well.
Through this internship opportunity, I hope to learn how successful teams function. The Office of Economic Development team is a great example of a united team, and I want to learn more about how they maintain this high level of commitment to the City of San Jose and to each other.