Call for Applications: EXCEL Fellowship with Santa Cruz County’s Youth Poet Laureate Program, 2024-2025

This role is open to work-study and non-work-study students. This role requires work authorization.

Application Deadline: Sunday, 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 Farnaz Fatemi, Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate, on the Youth Poet Laureate Program.

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 Farnaz Fatemi

Farnaz Fatemi, an Iranian American poet and writer and Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate for 2023 & 2024 is a founding member of The Hive Poetry Collective, a member of Writers of Color – Santa Cruz County, and a former Lecturer in Writing at UCSC. In the summers, she teaches new transfer students in UCSC’s Transfer Edge program. Her book, Sister Tongue زبان خواهر, was published in September 2022. It won the Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize, selected by Tracy K. Smith, won an honorable mention from the Foreword Indies, and received a Starred Review from Publisher’s Weekly. She is a California Individual Artist Fellow and an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow. Visit her website to learn more.

Position Description: Program Assistant

The Youth Poet Laureate is an advocate and county ambassador for poetry, social action, and civic engagement. They will champion their poetic practice while encouraging their peers to participate in the art form through readings, workshops, and appearances at events and engagements throughout the county.

You’ll work directly with the Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate (PL) on programs for youth, specifically the Youth Poet Laureate (YPL) program. The intern will support the YPL program in various ways, including planning poetry opportunities for the cohort (including workshops both for and by the younger poets), mentoring the poets, organizing events & appearances, and outreach on behalf of the program. The intern will also support the PL with other organizational tasks related to the YPL program.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND EXPECTATIONS

(25%) Researching and pursuing opportunities for youth poets—reading, publication, mentoring, etc.
(20%) Supporting the YPL and cohort with personal mentoring opportunities.
(20%) Outreach and communication to classrooms & poetry clubs to support the YPL cohorts (YPL + finalists); publicity for YPLs and programs.
(30%) Developing/writing content for social media and website for the youth poet laureate program;
(5%) Keep a detailed record of hours worked and progress on tasks, activities, and projects.

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 are interested in supporting teen writers and willingness to provide mentoring or support for their development.
You are comfortable and competent with writing formal emails to strangers for outreach and research.
You have proven strong writing skills.
You are competent with applications in Google Suite and Microsoft Suite (docs and spreadsheets)
You are organized and have time management strategies that help you complete your coursework and meet other responsibilities on time.
You are proactive when asking for help from professors or supervisors and turning assignments in.

Preferred Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

You have experience mentoring peers or youth.
You have experience with Canva and/or other tools used for publicity and marketing.
You are interested in poetry and creative writing.
You use Google Calendar to organize and manage your time.

Internship Term: November 2024–June 2025

Hours: 10 hours/week

Compensation: $20/hour

Location: This is a hybrid role – You can expect weekly contact with the Poet Laureate in Downtown Santa Cruz, including in-person meetings every other week

Mentorship: You’ll report to Farnaz Fatemi, Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate. 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

Your updated resume
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 Farnaz Fatemi.

Once the application window closes on October 13, 2024, at 11:59pm, there will be an interview process with top candidates. This job is expected to start in early November.

APPLY NOW

Please contact the EXPLORE 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.