Community Fellows Blog Posts

Over the last eight weeks, I have served the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits as their policy intern. My duties include attending various member meetings, conducting research on relevant policy issues, and creating informational write-ups. When I first started, I was worried that my lack of experience in the field of public policy would keep me from adding value to the small, but impactful, SVCN team. What I’ve found, however, is that a lot of the skills I’ve learned as a Santa Clara University student have been very applicable. I attribute a great deal of this success to the university’s extensive and diverse core that creates extremely well-rounded, capable students. For example, my position requires me to conduct a lot of research and then present it in a condensed, simplified form that’s easier for people to consume. Many of my classes, from my first-year writing course to the upper-division business courses, have required projects or papers that taught me how to search for relevant and reliable data and then present it in one way or another. These experiences have allowed me to work more efficiently in my role by giving me the skills to extract pertinent information in a more timely manner.

One of the first topics I was assigned to research was statistics regarding the growing senior population in Santa Clara County. Basically, we were trying to identify the potential needs of older adults in the area in an effort to inform local policy-makers and influencers. At first, I didn’t think much of the assignment. It seemed like a simple research task that would later turn into a condensed fact sheet. Once I began learning about the issues facing seniors, though, I began to think of my grandfather and how he was having similar experiences with long-term care costs, loneliness, and limited access to transportation. Shortly after I finished that project, I had a similar experience with the following project I was assigned to regarding unions and Right to Work laws. Again, I didn’t initially think that researching unions was going to be exciting, but the more I learned I started thinking about all of the people I knew, such as my dad, that could possibly be affected by Right to Work laws. These small epiphanies have helped me realize the importance of having informed citizens, not just when it comes to national issues, but local ones as well.

If I hadn’t been working at SVCN this quarter, I don’t think I would’ve known about the extent and relevance of these issues and how they might impact my loved ones. Simply being more informed has made me feel more invested and eager to speak and/or act on the problems at hand. Similarly, I think that if more people had basic knowledge of most of the issues their communities are facing, we’d see a lot more public involvement in local and state politics, which is how things should be, as we are the constituents being represented. Although I cannot personally inform every single person of all issues pertinent to them, I definitely have developed a deeper appreciation for the research and information I am working to help SVCN provide to the public in order to further this effort.