A Newsletter for the Neighbors of the University of California, Berkeley

Student interns assist city, school district, and local nonprofits

Program gives students real-world experience in civic engagement and a chance to make a difference

	Cal interns Allison Hungate (top) at the Berkeley Alliance; Neeta Joseph (middle) on her way to city hall, and Gali Barak (bottom) at the Jewish Family & Children’s Services.

By Janet Huseby

Twice a week UC Berkeley undergrad Neeta Joseph heads downtown to Berkeley City Hall. There she is helping to develop the city’s new interactive, online community calendar. With this tool, local organizations such as Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Cal Performances, and Cal Athletics will be able to post their event listings directly onto the calendar — a number of them with assistance from Joseph.

Joseph found the opportunity to work on this collaborative project with city government through the Cal in Berkeley Student Internship Program. It has been a good learning experience for Joseph, a third-year political science student, and a boon to the local community as well, as Donna LaSala, e-government manager for the city of Berkeley, can attest. “We couldn’t have moved forward on the calendar project without her,” she says.

The 20-year-old Cal in Berkeley program offers UC Berkeley students an o

pportunity to serve the community through internships in city government, the Berkeley Unified School District, and nonprofit organizations such as Alta Bates Medical Center, the Oakland Museum, Friends of Five Creeks, and Youth Tennis Advantage.

This year, 30 UC Berkeley interns volunteer about eight hours each week and attend a weekly two-hour seminar on community and local governmental issues. In return, they receive two academic credits, leadership training, and valuable, real-world education. The internships run from late fall through May.
E-government’s LaSala — now working with her third student intern — views the

Cal in Berkeley program as a “real two-way street.” Students “give us their insights and the benefit of their efforts,” she says. “And in return, we give them a unique opportunity to learn about community involvement.” Interns receive no monetary compensation, but each community organization pays $250 per intern to cover administrative costs of the program, run by the campus’s Cal Corps Public Service Center.

Among the interns this year are Ting Chou, working on publicity for Rebuilding Together; Craig Gertsch, providing office and classroom assistance at Oxford Elementary School; Allison Hungate, updating the Berkeley Youth Services Directory for Berk

eley Alliance, a collaboration between the university, city, and school district; and Gali Barak, currently planning a donor reception for Jewish Family & Children’s Services of the East Bay.

Cal in Berkeley is sponsored in part by the Associated Students of the University of California, the Berkeley Unified School District, the City of Berkeley, and the Berkeley Alliance.

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