Community Fellows Blog Posts

This year, I have the opportunity to intern with the San Jose Office of Economic Development (OED) through the Community Fellows program. I am interning in the Business Development group, focusing on all Downtown San Jose initiatives. The goal of the Business Development team is to help with business attraction, expansion, and retention and supporting job creation for the citizens of the city. Currently, the OED is  focused on helping businesses with the short- and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thus far, I have been able to help with two major projects. The first is assisting with the Al Fresco Initiative started by Mayor Liccardo. This program provides local restaurants and businesses with the opportunity to expand their services outdoors to incorporate sidewalks, parking lots, and other public spaces as part of their transition to serving  their customers outside. The second major project is related to the small business grants that the OED is able to supply to local business owners. I have been active in the grant writing, ensuring that many of our small businesses can continue to operate. I have been fortunate enough to hop on to a lot of Zoom calls with many of the local restaurant owners in the city to discuss the variety of issues that they are facing and help them navigate challenges so they can continue to conduct business. 

I have also been able to attend several city council and task force meetings. It has been great to see how these meetings are conducted and how well the city has adjusted to running them all virtually. I have always wanted to be more involved in public service. I hope to run for office at some point in my professional career, so this experience has been a great preview into what goes on in our local government. I am looking forward to continuing to help out our local community for the remainder of the academic year, especially at this time, and learn more about the city I now call home!