The CalSERVES Intern Program: a new way to utilize volunteers

There is an exciting development in the volunteer programs here at the CalSERVES Office and the CalSERVES After School Programs in Santa Rosa.  We have recently started to offer volunteer internships.  These internships provide volunteer interns with greater professional and leadership development than our traditional volunteer positions.

Meghan Schuttler, CalSERVES VIP Fellow, is taking the lead on our internship project.  Her enthusiasm and "get things done" attitude push all of us on the VIP Fellow team to work hard to provide exceptional volunteer opportunities to the community.  Her leadership on the internship program has also helped us develop a series of professional development seminars for volunteers at all of our local partner sites.

Meghan Schuttler, CalSERVES VIP Fellow

With the internship program, Meghan is finding where interns can best serve our organization, while also developing the positions in such a way as to make them rewarding to our interns. Thus far, the program is off to a promising start.  Meghan enthusiastically tells me, “The program is great! Local colleges and high schools are able to provide course credit to our interns and we can set learning goals to provide interns with the skills they want to perfect.”  Being able to tailor the internships to the intern’s specific needs is an important aspect of the program that Meghan is particularly excited about. Intern projects range from event planning for the office to writing and teaching lesson plans at the elementary schools.

Westyn Narvaez, the Administrative Intern at Meadow View School is the most recent addition to the CalSERVES team. A current student at Santa Rosa Junior College, he hopes to pursue a career with the State Department, and thinks this internship is an important step forward to achieving his goal. Westyn has quickly adapted to the CalSERVES program and provides invaluable support to his site supervisor. When asked why he chose this position he stated, ”Because it’s something that I’m good at. If entering data into spreadsheets helps you with your overall goal then I am happy to help.”  This kind of enthusiasm and dedication to the CalSERVES mission is what makes our interns valued members of the CalSERVES team.

As the Spring semester continues at local colleges, more and more applicants are flooding in. Four interns have been placed with CalSERVES and there will be many more to come.  CalSERVES is excited about the new intern program, and excited to see how it develops into the future!

by Alex Rowan, CalSERVES VIP Leader