CareerBridge Gave Me a Dream Summer Internship in Oakland

By Eric Steckel | December 18, 2018

“Summer internships give you a view of the world, and life, and I wouldn’t have had a chance to do this without CareerBridge.”

Alicia has big dreams for her future, as well as a lot of drive and initiative. However, opportunities to gain valuable summer internship opportunities seemed totally out of reach… until she heard about CareerBridge.

“I would not have had a summer work opportunity at BART if it weren’t for CareerBridge,” she explains. “Mr. Sundman showed me that I can get involved, and work through the summer, and really dive in and see what they do there.”

Summer Internships in Oakland that you provide open doors for eager students like Alicia.

Alicia jumped at the opportunity. She took CareerBridge workshops to prepare for her internship at BART. Throughout the summer internship in Oakland, she assisted the communications team while learning more about the communications field. Alicia learned to draft media advisories, run press events and coordinate community outreach.

“Working on projects at BART is not the same as school. It gives you a view of the world, and life, and I wouldn’t have had a chance to do this without CareerBridge.”

But a career in communications is not Alicia’s aspiration.

“If you are really serious about your dream career, CareerBridge saw that and wanted to help me pursue my dream.”

“I actually want to be a veterinarian,” she confesses. “I want to open up my own practice. So being in the business setting, and getting to know people from different cultures, and working with others is really going to help.”

Dave Sundman, the CareerBridge program manager, listened to Alicia and connected a few dots.

“The Kensington Veterinary Hospital has been a longtime supporter of Children Rising,” Dave said. “So I reached out to Beth Phimister, [owner and lead veterinarian], and asked if they would consider taking Alicia in for an internship or a job shadowing opportunity. She said ‘absolutely!’ And that set the wheels in motion.”

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Alicia is preparing to job shadow at the Kensington Veterinary Hospital so that she can get a unique insiders perspective into her dream job. “I had no idea that Children Rising had those connections,” she said. “I don’t know any veterinarians, and I was just so thankful for the opportunity because this is really going to help me get a view of what it takes to start a practice.”

For Alicia, the internship at BART was an amazing experience. However, job shadowing at the veterinary clinic will provide an ever deeper level of experience as she pursues her career.

“If you are really serious about your dream career, CareerBridge saw that and wanted to help me pursue my dream,” she said. “They are helping me with the tools and connections to make that happen, and I am thankful.”

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