Harvard's Center for Public Interest Career
2017 San Diego Report
The Harvard Club of San Diego supported three interns this summer!
The Harvard Club of San Diego has been thrilled to work with Harvard’s Center for Public Interest Careers - CPIC - to offer summer internships to three College undergraduates this past summer. This follows CPIC awards made over the last three years as well. The Club encourages members to donate to the CPIC fund to enable more undergraduates to explore public interest careers in our community.
For 2017, our undergrads worked at Fr. Joe’s Homeless Shelter, the Oceanside School District, and the San Diego Public Defender’s Office.
Veronica Ma, a Social Studies junior, used her skills in social media to expand Fr. Joe’s outreach and publicity. She met with shelter directors and interviewed Fr. Joe’s residents and volunteers, to write articles describing how the organization helps its neighbors in need to achieve self-sufficiency. “I researched and presented information on the issues of homelessness, affordable housing and poverty. Importantly, I learned about how the agency creates solutions to help people who are homeless” reported Veronica.
Segan Helle worked at San Diego’s Public Defenders office where she explored her interest in the legal profession. Segan is now in her sophomore year. She observed the huge difficulties facing disadvantaged clients who suffer with mental health and substance abuse disorders, but in the end, she observed, “I was surprised at the direction that San Diego’s system is moving towards, with many judges beginning to shift to favor rehabilitation over retribution for clients. In the end, it was these silver linings that made my internship an incredible experience: I was able to retain a lot of hope for the future of the justice system, and was also able to picture myself on the front lines of it in the future.”
Katherine Bussey, ’17, Social Studies concentrator, spent her CPIC summer with the Oceanside School District. She discovered that the district serves a large population of disadvantaged youth and that their scholastic outcomes are well below desired standards. Katherine has a grant to continue her work with the school district throughout the coming year. Because the district is continually underfunded, Katherine “chose to work for the school district this summer and over the next year through the Harvard Richardson Fellowship, striving to make tangible improvements.”
Contact any Board member for more information about this program as a participant, donor, or public interest organization.