Call for Applications: Humanities EXCEL Fellowship with WILDR – Communications and Community Development Intern, 2024-2025

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

Application Deadline: October 13, 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 Women in Leadership for Diverse Representation (WILDR).

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 WILDR (Women in Leadership for Diverse Representation):

WILDR is committed to realizing more diverse representation by women in elected and appointed positions in Santa Cruz County. We support progressive women who reflect the communities they serve through training, networking, and leadership development.

WILDR's vision is a democracy where elected officials and other leaders reflect the population, serving in roles that uplift all people in equity and justice. WILDR participants support and work to uphold the following:

• racial and gender equity,
• reproductive justice,
• lifespan education funding,
• voter access,
• housing justice, and
• equitable and shared economy for all.

WILDR works to create the conditions for women with aligned values to enter and be supported in leadership roles, with a focus on elected and appointed positions in government. WILDR engages people that align with our core values, regardless of party. WILDR does not support specific candidates through endorsements or campaign funding.

Position Description: Communications and Community Development Intern

This position will allow you to build engagement among a spectrum of community members to support the work of WILDR. You will learn how to apply techniques to develop community engagement, especially among younger women and women who have, through cultural, sociological, and other barriers, historically yet to learn how to engage in public service in the county of Santa Cruz.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND EXPECTATIONS

Supporting and conducting community engagement network development (60%)

• Build out WILDR’s network by engaging with groups representing under-represented individuals, e.g., college attendees and staff, younger women, women living in South Santa Cruz County, and women for whom English is not their first language, through the following means:
• Research to identify one or more organizations at UCSC and Cabrillo College, serving and engaging students and/or staff with WILDR leadership, identify how to engage best, and test implementing those efforts.
• Continue to further develop engagement in two groups with whom WILDR has made initial contact: Cradle to Career and South County Triage Group.

Developing and disseminating WILDR Communications (40%)

• Prepare and send out communications in various media/systems (Instagram, Facebook, email, text) to communicate with existing WILDR participants.
• Manage WILDR Google Sheets database of participants.
• Improve WILDR communication systems, including email newsletter and text communication; assist in refining messaging.

Required Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• 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. [required]
• You have work authorization. [required]
• You have a strong interest in the work of WILDR and in working to get more women engaged in serving in public office in Santa Cruz County broadly.
• You are reliable; you can meet deadlines and communicate proactively using multiple media (email, text, Zoom, in-person, etc.); you have strong time-management strategies to handle a flexible remote role.
• You are committed to learning about barriers to serving in public office and how to successfully bring more individuals to be involved with WILDR.
• You are committed to and interested in learning communication techniques to encourage broader WILDR support.

Preferred Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• You are bilingual in Spanish and English and confident in reading and writing in Spanish.
• You have experience and skills in social media communications, WIX website tools,
• You have experience using Google documents, including familiarity with Google Sheets (Or, you’re interested in developing skills to use Google Sheets as a database management system.)

Internship Term: November 2024 – June 2025

Hours: 15 hours/week

Compensation: $20/hour

Location: This is a primarily remote position, with in-person meetings once/month.

Mentorship: You will report to the WILDR Co-Chair. 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 meet to check in 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!

• Address your cover letter to Erica Padilla-Chavez, WILDR Co-Chair

Once the application window closes on Sunday, October 13 at 11:59 pm, there will be an interview process with top candidates. This job is expected to start in early November.

APPLY NOW

Please contact the EXCEL Program coordinator, 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 UCSC Humanities Division generously support the Humanities EXCEL Program.