Michael Liu: This is Going to be a Good Year
Another year of university has begun, and I have been given the privilege of starting my new journey working at the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits (SVCN) as their marketing and communications intern. On its website, SVCN describes itself as “a robust, advocacy and training network of nonprofit organizations”. The organization supports local nonprofits in Silicon Valley in order to ensure their voices are heard and visions are achieved.
As a marketing and communications intern, my main tasks each day include updating our website’s job board and community calendar with new job opportunities and upcoming events within the Silicon Valley nonprofit community. I also have a list of a few big projects to work on throughout the year, the first being an exciting luncheon event titled “Be Our Guest”, where local celebrities come to serve lunch to nonprofit staff and other leaders in the community, earning tip donations for SVCN during the process. The event is supplemented with a riveting pumpkin contest where the celebrity servers will flex their creative muscles and bring their best creations.
It was not long into the end of my first week until I realized SVCN was in and of itself its own small community. Working under my supervisor, Victoria Ramirez, along with the rest of the team has been a real treat. In contrast to other work experiences I’ve had in the past, SVCN’s office has been much more warm and welcoming each day. The team loves to gather around the center of the office to have lunch, talk story, and genuinely get to know each other. The culture here is what this present experience from past work experiences. Working at SVCN is much more than doing a series of daily tasks and collecting my paychecks. The mission to build a thriving and impactful community of nonprofits, exemplified by the phrase “everybody wins”, has really made me feel proud to be doing the work that I am doing in an organization that cares about the greater whole. I was a little hesitant to work extensively at a nonprofit for the very first time, but after these first few weeks, I realize this year is going to go by really quickly.