Internship with Black Surf Santa Cruz

Application Deadline: February 25, 2024

The Humanities Division is excited to announce an experiential learning opportunity for Humanities undergraduates at UC Santa Cruz to work with Black Surf Santa Cruz!

Internships connect Humanities majors and minors to projects in the community, with the aim of mutually benefiting students and organizations. Students gain practical experience, professional training, and learn about positions outside of the university that build on their studies in the Humanities. At the same time, community organizations benefit from students’ assistance and academic expertise.

About Black Surf Santa Cruz

Our mission is to "promote physical, spiritual, and communal healing through surfing, recreation, education, and wellness." BSSC centers Black community members and other historically and presently excluded people of color in its programming, and adheres to a guiding principle of "Let’s learn together" to invite the entire extended community in Santa Cruz County to create inclusive surf, ocean recreation, and marine sustainability spaces. Our program emphasizes joy and liberation and aims to increase mental wellbeing, feelings of belonging and psychological safety, and the number of BIPOC enjoying surfing and associated outdoor and coastal recreational activities.

Job Title: Communications and Community Relations Intern

Internship Term: Early March - June 30, 2024 (with a possibility to extend in hybrid or fully remote work through July 30, 2024)

Mandatory In-Person Dates:

• Sat, April 6th 2pm - 5pm
• Sun, April 28 9am - 12pm
• Sat, May 4 12pm - 3pm
• Sat, June 22 10 am - 5 pm

Hours: 10-20 hours/week

Compensation: $20/hour

Location: Hybrid position. Applicants should be based in Santa Cruz County. This position is primarily remote when not supporting in-person programming located at various beaches across Santa Cruz County and/or our downtown office space.

Reports to: Esabella Bonner, Founder and Executive Director of BSSC

Job Duties

Communications + Research & Storytelling [50%]

• Assist with the design and execution of a strategic communications plan (social media, newsletters, website, mailers, memos, emails, campaign materials, etc.)
• Assist with the design of marketing collateral (e.g. flyers, social media postings, etc.)
  • Ability to create visually appealing content.
  • Knowledge of either Canva, Photoshop, and/or Adobe Illustrator preferred.
• Ability to design and execute social media campaigns.
  • Create and distribute content such as blogs, infographics, videos and press releases on social media and traditional news outlets
  • Extensive knowledge/prior use of social media platforms - including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.
  • Track social media engagement to identify high-performing ideas and campaigns for scalability
• Work to draft, distribute and pitch eNewsletter, media alerts and updating the BSSC website/socials with current events and relevant news.

Community Engagement [25%]

• Develop community contact documents and assist with promotion and outreach to BSSC partners and the public.
• Engaging with participants and getting stories to share.
• Assist with day of event logistics, post-event communication/ evaluation, compiling materials and other event-related activities.

Administrative Tasks [25%]

• Assist in coordinating and executing various operational and administrative tasks and projects as assigned by the Executive Director.
• Provide general administrative support to the organization, including managing schedules, arranging meetings, and maintaining files.
• Other tasks and duties as needed.

Required Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• You are a declared major or minor in a department in the Humanities Division, and you are in good academic standing. [required]
• Proficiency with Google Suite including gmail and google drive.
• Proficiency using Excel (basic to intermediate skill level).
• Strong computer skills with experience working with social media platforms and tools (e.g. Meta Platforms, TikTok, Canva, Wix, etc.).
• Comfortable working independently and with a team of collaborators in hybrid remote/in-person workflow.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines.
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy in completing tasks.
• Commitment to anti-racism.

Preferred Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• High school diploma or equivalent
• Previous experience in an administrative role (bonus).
• Problem-solving mindset and ability to handle challenges proactively.
• An understanding of the history of slavery, segregation, and how white supremacy affects modern day society, specifically Santa Cruz.
• Creative, self-motivated, self-driven, and pays attention to detail — being diligent and intentional in completing assigned tasks with the ability to multitask.
• Demonstrated strong, clear, written & oral communications.
• Has the capacity to work and thrive in a sometimes high-pressure, high-speed environment.

How To Apply

Apply by submitting your resume and a short cover letter (no more than one page) answering these questions: Why this job? Why you? Why now?

Please address your cover letter to Esabella Bonner, Executive Director of Black Surf Santa Cruz

• COVER LETTER TIP: consider how this position will further your undergraduate studies as well as your professional career once you have completed your education. Feel free to be creative here. Work in the public humanities does not have a rigid framework and innovation and the ability to adapt is a key component.
• REVIEW these resume and cover letter resources to ensure that you are a strong candidate!

After the application window closes at 11:59pm February 25th, there will be a virtual interview process with top candidates. This position is expected to begin in early March towards the end of Winter Quarter 2024.

NOTE: This internship is compensated through either student employment with UCSC or through a scholarship award. If you’re a financial aid applicant, the scholarship award option would be incorporated into your aid offer to meet your budgeted cost of attendance. A student must have room in their financial aid package to receive an experiential learning scholarship award. In most cases the award will fill any gap between your aid and budget, or the award will reduce your loan obligation. Once factored into your aid offer, the award is paid through to your UC Santa Cruz student account. If you owe fees for the term in which the award is applied, the award will apply to those fees first. Any remaining funds will be issued to you via direct deposit or by check, depending on how you are signed up to receive refunds. A student must have room in their financial aid package to get a department award. If the scholarship award is for summer, you need to be enrolled in 6+ units.

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

This undergraduate internship is generously supported by The Mellon Foundation.