NPI Blog Posts

Serving the Public: It’s More than Policy

Aidan talks about his experience working at the San Jose City Hall Office of Economic Development.

And That’s a Wrap!

Sean wraps up his team's experience working with Licia Imports.

She Taught Us about Compassion and about What It Means to Have a Dream and to Chase It

Christian talks about what he and his team learned from working with Juanita's Flowers the past two quarters.

Visiting Cristo Rey High School Again!

Brian talks about his follow up visit to Cristo Rey High School to provide students more information on majors offered at Santa Clara University.

Thank You Cristo Rey High School and See You Next Year!

Amy reflects on her fellowship at Cristo Rey High School and talks about her plans for next year.

We Made Large Progress on Marketing Materials and Website

Leopoldo summarizes the development of the website and marketing flyers for Immaculate Cleaning.

The Students in NPI Have Been Very Busy Wrapping Up the Quarter

Jordan talks about his group's progress setting up Green Bay Hauling's finances on a new online system.

The New Website Will Bring in and Retain More Customers

Nolan discusses his teams ongoing progress with the new website and the new sign for Sweet Passions.

Meeting the Dean!

Emily talks about the final dinner with supervisors and the dean of the Business School.

Juanita’s Flowers Update

Ana shares her update on all the progress the group has been making on the improvement projects for Juanita's Flowers.

New Sign and New Website for Sweet Passions

Matthew talks about the progress his team has made with the store sign and the new website development.

We Are Now Truly in the Execution Stage

Yuri talks about her visit to De-Bug and his group's progress with the new marketing strategy for Lucia Import's.

This Quarter We Get to Do the Fun Stuff: Implementing Our Plans and Seeing the Results!

Payton discusses his visit to the De-Bug office and her group's progress with implementing the plan for their business.

Everything Is Falling into Place with Licia Imports!

Jessica discusses her team's progress with the marketing plan for Lucia Imports.

This Week We Made More Progress

Brian talks about the progress his team made on various projects for Immaculate Cleaning.

Nonprofit Workers Are Superheroes

Samantha talks about her experience at the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley and what she has been able to accomplish.

De-Bug Provided Us with a lot of Insight about Economic and Racial Issues Small Businesses May Be Facing

Kelly reflects on her visit to the De-Bug headquarters.

This Development Is an Aspect that We Are All Very Excited About!

Corinne talks about her group's marketing strategies for Juanita's Flowers.

How Can I Leave a Lasting Impact in My Organization

Andrew reflects on his internship and discusses the new program called #BeautifySJ.

A Trip to Debug

Trevor talks about his group's visit to Debug, a community advocacy and a multimedia storytelling organization based out of San José, California.”

This Course Is Much More Personal and Involved than I Initially Believed

Grant talks about his group's personal connection with the owner of Immaculate Cleaning and the progress the group is making on various projects.

This Class Is Opening My Eyes to Important Social Issues that I Would Otherwise Be Blind To

Jordan Ford discusses his group's progress working with Green Bay Hauling and the classroom presentation on poverty in Silicon Valley by "De-Bug".

The New Accounting Software System

Matt talks about transferring the company's finances to Wave Accounting software and creating tutorials to help Mr. Rivera use the system going forward.

This Autonomy Leads to the Feeling of Importance, Influence and Impact that Most Internships Don’t Provide

Kate discusses how her perception of her internship has changed as she has immersed herself into her role.

It Is Time to Begin Implementing the Ideas

Spencer summarized the group's efforts to expand Juanita's Flowers product offering to include corsages and boutonnieres.

Philanthropically, Professionally, and Socially

Stephanie reflects on her group's speed of progress and what she has learned from the guest speakers.

Working with My Team and the Business Has Been Such a Fun and Rewarding Experience

Kimmy summarizes the group's success with the new marketing strategy.

We Are Finally Getting Started on All of Our Ideas

Courtney talks about the group's plans for marketing Lucia's Imports products and the status of the new sign for the business.

Working with Mr. Rivera and NPI Has Been an Amazing Opportunity

Ryan reflects on the group's efforts moving Green Bay Hauling onto a new accounting software system with the goal of securing a loan for the business.

Our Team Has Loved Building a Strong Relationship with our Business

Nicole talks about the group's next steps with Immaculate Cleaning Essentials with accounting and marketing efforts.

The Group Is Very Excited to Be at the Point where We Can Make Tangible Changes and Contributions to the Business

Christina discusses the implementation process and action items for Sweet Passions.

Reality Check

Allison reflects on her group's progress working with Lucia's Imports.

With Winter Quarter Behind Us, Spring Quarter Holds Tremendous Promise

Sean Festle talks about the end of the winter quarter presentations and the plans for the spring quarter.

While Winter Quarter May Be Coming to an End, BUSN 188 Is Only Just Beginning

Kelly Honts discusses her group's spring quarter improvement plans for Floreria Juanita.

In This Fellowship, My Clients Are San Jose’s One Million Residents

Andrew reflects on his experiences working in the Mayor Liccardo's office.

Falling in Love with Non-Profits

Kate Weber talks about her experience working with non-profits for the first time in her career.

BUSN 188 Has Tremendously Opened My Eyes to the Degree of Poverty and Inequality within Silicon Valley

Stephaie Hsu reflects on the De-Bug classroom presentation about the level of poverty and inequality in the Silicon Valley.

Even if the Issues Did Not Apply We Gained a Better Understanding of Them

Leopoldo Magana talks about the class presentation from the De Bug team and his group's plans for research on Immaculate Cleaning's competitors.

Wonderful Experiences at Cristo Rey San Jose High School

Amy Chen summarizes her experience working with students and staff at Cristo Rey San Jose High School.

It Has Been Really Exciting Getting to Apply the Business Skills that We Have Developed since Arriving at Santa Clara University

Spencer Stubblefield discusses his group's marketing strategies for Floreria Juanita.

There Are Many Things to Be Done but We Are Staged for Efficiently Executed Progress

Rocio Banson summarizes her group's progress working with their client, Floreria Juanita.

Hope

Allison Snare shares her thoughts about working with Lucia's Imports and importance of keeping hope.

I Knew that We Were in a Good Spot to Help Them Continue to Provide Their Level of Customer Service to a Bigger Market

Jessica Seandel talks about why Licia Imports has been so successful and how her team will build on that success.

The Designing Process Will Be a Unique Business Experience

Grant Jones summarizes his group's plans for creating a client database for Immaculate Cleaning.

Working with Sweet Passions on Improving the Business Processes

Matthew Ney talks about the next steps on improving business communications for Sweet Passions.

With Our Help We Hope to Take Her Skills to the Next Level, Allowing Her Business to Continue to Grow

Brian Huhn talks about his group's on-site visit with Mary to shadow her business.

Something That Is So Great About Henry Is that He Is Just Extremely Friendly and Is Just as Excited to Work with Us as We Are to Work with Him

Ryan Willett discusses his group's visit with Henry, the owner of Green Bay Hauling.

The Development of Their Business Trajectory and Long Term Goals Remains Important to Every One of Us on Our Team

Corinne Foster talks about her group's plans to help Floreria Juanity expand their business.

The Amount of Work that Goes into Something that Seems so Minuscule and Trite is Incredible

Trevor Lee summarizes his observations during his group's visit at the Sweet Passions bakery.

This Fellowship Has Allowed Me the Chance to Learn So Much About the Nonprofit Sector As Well As How Policy Research Works

Emily talks about her first weeks at the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits, SVCN, and her role at the organization.

I Could See How Their Attitude Could Be Helpful, Even Essential, in Keeping Their Business Alive and Thriving

Brian Schunk talks about his hands-on experience working with the owners of Licia's Imports.

I Have Never Been a Part of a Program Similar to NPI

Payton Dizney Swanson shares his thoughts about the NPI class and his first meeting with the owner of Green Bay Hauling.

In Challenging Times, I Think it Will Be Important to Remember the Beauty in What We Are Doing

Samantha Malone reflects on her fellowship with the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley (HFSV) and Fellows Retreat.

Our Plan Is Simply to Expect the Unexpected

Nolan O'Neill talks about his experience visiting Cristo Rey High School and his first meeting with his group's business owners.

But a lot of Business Knowledge Comes from Experience

Kimmy Barclay summarizes her first meeting with Mary, the owner of Immaculate Cleaning.

I Felt More Connected to Them as Individuals Rather than Just Their Business

Courtney Shenefiel discusses her visit with owners of Lucia Imports, Lucia and Sergio and the group's next step on the project.

It Was Easy to See Their Excitement, and as We Got in the Car it Was Even Easier to See Our Excitement

Christian Linares reflects on his first meeting with Estela and Sandra from Floreria Juanita.

Alum Rock Neighborhood Orientation and Visit to the Cristo Rey High School

Nicole Fite talks about her experience at the Alum Rock neighborhood orientation day.

Alum Rock rocked!

Melanie Vezjak reflects on the Neighborhood Orientation Day at Alum Rock neighborhood in San Jose.

Things Are About to Get Very Interesting!

Matt Robinson talks about his experience at the Alam Rock Neighborhood orientation day.

Getting to know Licia and Sergio from Lucia Imports

Yuri Nakamura summarizes the team's experience having dinner and meeting with Lucia Imports' owners.

Ready and Excited to Embark on This Journey of Learning

Christina Creamer reflects on meeting and getting to know the Cristo Rey High School students.

Raymond Whelan : Chavelas

Construction at Chavelas is underway and the team is creating a new logo, t-shirts, menu, signage and website for the restaurant.

Jamal Woodard : La Mejor Taqueria

Jamal talks about how NPI wrapped up this year's projects by presenting to San Jose's Mayor Sam Liccardo at City Hall.

Falcons and Reflection

City Hall plays host to a number of interesting individuals...including this falcon, which sits perched atop the 18th floor of the building.

Anthony Gill reflects on his experience interning at San Jose's City Hall.

Indy Hickman : Chavelas

Indy and his group presented their work with Chavelas at San Jose's City Hall and celebrated the end of their project at a karaoke night hosted by the taqueria.

Isabella Giannini : Taqueria Guaima

Isabella and her team presented their experience with Vanessa and Taqueria Guaima at San Jose's City Hall and focused on the entrepreneurial mindset of Vanessa despite numerous setbacks during NPI's journey with her.

Oniel Lucrisia : Center for Employment Training

Oniel talks about her experiences at her fellowship with the Center for Employment Training.

Everything Converges

Gus' initiative at his internship with the City of San Jose led to a convergence of his work, schooling and general interests.

Rheanna Ganapathy : Silicon Valley Council for Nonprofits

Rheanna details what she has been doing as a NPI fellow for SVCN.

Erika Francks : Thriving Neighbors Initiative

Erika goes through all the events that she has been coordinating through the Thriving Neighbors Initiative.

Work Work Work (and Talk and Listen and Reflect)

The last time Brandon wrote a blog post was in January, near the start of winter quarter, so it’s only fitting that he writes a second and final entry on the downward arc of spring quarter.

Andrea Lai : Taqueria Guaima

Progress is being made with Vanessa and her business Taqueria Guaima. She has found a new home for her business and will be working with CET to implement some repairs to the space.

Samantha Malone : Taqueria La Mejor

Construction at La Mejor is underway, with menu and website redesign being finalized as well.

Keaton Lee : La Ceiba

Construction at La Ceiba is underway and updates to the menu are being finalized.

Andrew Meylan : La Ceiba

Andrew relates some of the difficulties his team has faced with the process of renovating La Ceiba and how they have addressed them.

Cayla Carson : Chavelas

Cayla provides an update on the renovation that Chavelas is under going.

Johnathan Yeung : Taqueria Guaima

Johnathan updates us on the progress his team has made with Taqueria Guaima.

Dillon Foehr : Taqueria La Mejor 2

Dillon explains how his group has been working together to implement changes to Taqueria La Mejor 2.

Melanie Vezjak : La Ceiba

Melanie recaps NPI's class discussion with Jeff Rademann, Executive President for the Santa Clara Valley Region of Wells Fargo, and where her team is at with helping La Ceiba.

Jerica Schlachter : La Ceiba

Jerica gives an update on La Ceiba's progress.

Laura Kubisiak : Taqueria La Mejor #2

Laura gives an update on where her team is with helping Taqueria La Mejor #2.

Natalie Ramirez : Team Chavelas

Natalie recaps where her team is with their upgrades for Chavelas.

Grant Chou : La Ceiba

Grant reviewed what his team has been up to lately with La Ceiba.

Haley Harada : Taqueria Guaima

Haley updates us on Vanessa and Taqueria Guaima.

Raymond Whelan : Chavelas

Raymond reviews the goals and priorities his team has compiled to help Chevales restaurant succeed.

Calli Carson : Chavelas Restaurant

Calli gives an update on where Chavelas Restaurant is with its upgrade.

Raya Young - Cristo Rey San Jose

Raya describes the work she has been doing during her fellowship at the Cristo Rey San Jose Corporate Work Study Program.

Abby Hitchcock : Taqueria Guaima

Abby describes the challenged Taqueria Guaima has encountered and the plan of action that her team, along with owner Vanessa, have come up with.

Colin Richards : La Mejor Taqueria

Colin shows us some of the changes they're implementing at La Mejor Taqueria in a video blog!

The View from the 18th - Anthony Gill

Anthony Gill, NPI Fellow at the Office of San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, gives a taste of his time at the Mayor's office.

Andrew Meylan : La Ceiba

Andrew gives an update of where his team and the NPI class are at.

Haley Harada : Taqueria Guaima

Haley and her team work through big picture planning for Taqueria Guaima.

Dillon Foehr : Taqueria La Mejor

Dillon catches us up on the progress Team Taqueria La Mejor has been making.

Raya Young - Cristo Rey

Raya is thriving in her fellowship with Cristo Rey San Jose Corporate Work Study Program, and she explains why.

Jamal Woodard : Taqueria La Mejor #2

Jamal updates us on the work his team has been doing for Taqueria La Mejor.

Andrea Lai : Taqueria Guaima

Andrea and her team are helping business-owner Vanessa to find a new, cost-effective space for her business.

Natalie Ramirez : Chavelas Restaurant

Natalie and her team met with the owner of Chavelas to brainstorm ideas that would help the restaurant in its early steps as a business.

Keaton Lee : La Ceiba

Keaton reviews what the NPI class has been focusing on the past couple weeks and what his team is working on for La Ceiba.

Indy Hickman : Chavelas

Indy discusses the steps Team Chavelas has been taking to help boost the restaurants' customer base.

Melanie Vezjak : La Ceiba

Melanie's group presents their market analysis to their NPI class, and gets to know the owners of La Ceiba better.

Rheanna Ganapathy : Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits

Rheanna reflects on her experiences working as the marketing and communications intern for Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits.

Market Analysis Neighborhood Visit : Cayla Carson

Cayla reviews what her group did on their recent visit to Chevales in the Washington Neighborhood.

Jonathan Yeung - Taqueria Guaimas

Jonathan writes about what his team has been focusing on for Vanessa and Taqueria Guaimas.

Erika Francks - Thriving Neighbors Initiative

Erika updates us as to what she has been doing with the Thriving Neighbors Initiative.

Grant Chou - La Ceiba

Grant and his team are getting a feel for the competition in the local area, and familiarizing themselves with La Ceiba's situation.

Samantha Malone - Taqueria La Mejor

Samantha details some of the issues that face Taqueria La Mejor and her team's plans to address them.

Oniel Lucrisia : Center for Employment Training

Oniel reflects on the first few weeks of her fellowship with the Center for Employment Training.

Brandon Sanchez : Office of the Mayor, San Jose

Brandon relates his first impressions and experiences working in the office of San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.

Jerica Schlachter : La Ceiba

Jerica introduces her group and what they've been up to at La Ceiba.

Calli Carson : Chavelas Restaurant

Calli explains how NPI has allowed her to fulfill one of the reasons she came to SCU - applying her learning to serve communities and people in need.

Laura Kubisiak : Taqueria La Mejor

Laura details her initial experiences with the Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative.

Isabella Giannini : La Taqueria Guaima

Isabella introduces La Taqueria Guaima, the restaurant her group is working with this quarter.

A New Language : Gus Hardy

Gus Hardy reflects on his experiences so far interning in the Office of San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.