Call for Applications – Humanities EXCEL Fellowship with Housing Santa Cruz County, 2024-2025

We encourage work-study and non-work-study students to apply. This role requires work authorization.

Application Deadline: September 12, 2024

The Humanities Division and The Humanities Institute are excited to announce an experiential learning opportunity for undergraduates at UC Santa Cruz to work with Housing Santa Cruz County.

The Humanities Experiential Career Exploration and Learning (EXCEL) Program connects Humanities majors and minors to organizations in the community for paid internships. In this cohort program, EXCEL Fellows gain practical experience and professional training while learning about positions outside of the university that build on their studies in the humanities. At the same time, community partner organizations benefit from students’ assistance and academic expertise. EXCEL Fellowships carry on the success of THI’s Public Fellows program, and they foster positive collaborations between the campus and community, demonstrating the value of a Humanities degree for a range of careers.

About Housing Santa Cruz County

Housing Santa Cruz County (HSCC) is made up of individuals, nonprofit and for-profit businesses, service providers, homelessness organizations and advocates, agriculture leaders, faith-based organizations, labor leaders, financial institutions, housing professionals (architects, contractors), sustainable community leaders (transportation, environment, health, education, and energy professionals) nonprofit and for-profit housing developers, local government staff and elected officials, and community leaders.

We are dedicated to making Santa Cruz County affordable for all.

Position Description: Advocacy and Communications Intern

Are you interested in shaping housing policy and advocating for positive change? Are you passionate about affordable housing advocacy and skilled in communications? This position will offer opportunities to collaborate with the Executive Director, Admin & Communications Coordinator, and the HSCC Endorsements and Communications Committees to learn about and track housing needs in our community, advocate for change, and organize events around housing needs.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND EXPECTATIONS

• Policy / Advocacy (50%):
  • Research timely local and state-wide housing legislation. The team will use this research to invite community partners to participate in call-to-action advocacy work in person or via email and plan educational events impacting the Santa Cruz County community.
  • Research and track local affordable housing projects across the county.
  • Help maintain an advocacy calendar to support HSCC’s timely advocacy.
  • Track project dates and planning commission/council/board meetings.
  • Collaborate with staff and local partners to identify and track advocacy needs.
  • Opportunities to attend City Council, Board of Supervisor, and Planning Commission Meetings.

• Communications / Media (50%):
  • Following brand guidelines, create informative, engaging social media content. Check out @housingscc on Instagram.
  • Write clear and concise social media post captions independently (for approval.)
  • Assist in drafting and updating website copy.
  • Contribute to newsletter creation and distribution.
  • Basic graphic design for promotional materials.
  • Build out a weekly social media content calendar. Help maintain the events calendar.
  • Support in planning and promoting community-engagement events

Who You Are:

• You are a declared major or minor in a department in the Humanities Division and are in good academic standing. If you are currently proposed, you can declare by the end of the academic year in June 2025. [required]
• You have work authorization. [required]
• When it comes to your work, you are detail-oriented and proactive. You have strong organizational and research skills. You are independent and take the initiative to complete tasks. You have time-management strategies that allow you to complete your coursework and make time for other priorities in your life, including a job. [required]
• You are analytical and driven by curiosity to get to the bottom of things and solve a problem or find an answer. [strongly preferred]
• You are passionate about affordable housing advocacy. You are interested in local government processes and statewide housing issues (which impact Santa Cruz County) [strongly preferred]
• You are a clear communicator; writing is one of your strong skills. [required]
• You use Instagram and Facebook. Bonus if you’ve helped manage an organization or business’s social media accounts. [preferred]
• You have basic graphic design skills and have (Canva, Adobe, etc.) [required]

Internship Term: November 2024–June 2025. Expect a busy month in May 2025, which is Affordable Housing Month.

Hours: 10-15 hours/week, shift times flexible to accommodate your class schedule

Compensation: $20/hour

# Positions Available: 1

Location: Housing Santa Cruz County does not have a brick-and-mortar office. There will be opportunities to meet in person at a coffee shop. Expect most meetings to take place on Zoom. Events will take place in Santa Cruz County.

• UCSC Humanities funds a ZipCar account so students can book vehicles to travel to work or required events in Santa Cruz County if needed.

Mentorship: You will report to Housing Santa Cruz County’s Executive Director, Elaine Johnson. The partner supervisor will delegate tasks and review your work, provide coaching, and help you understand what working in this field is like. You will check in with her at least once per week.

Apply By Submitting

1. Your resume
2. A short cover letter (no more than one page), answering these questions: Why are you interested in this position? How does your academic expertise and skillset prepare you for this role? What are you hoping to gain from this opportunity?

REVIEW these resume and cover letter resources to ensure you are a strong candidate!

• Please address your cover letter to Elaine Johnson, Executive Director of Housing Santa Cruz County.

APPLY NOW

Please contact Assistant Director of Experiential Learning Kylie Rachwalski at hum-experiential-learning@ucsc.edu with any questions.

The Mellon Foundation, The Helen and Will Webster Foundation, The Humanities Institute, and the Humanities Division generously support the Humanities EXCEL Program.