About the Program
The Government Fellowship Program was developed to engage students enrolled in post-secondary educational institutions by placing them in County Agencies, Departments, and Board Offices that are developing and implementing high priority policies and initiatives or that have high demand job classifications. The goal of the Program is to create a mutually beneficial experience for both students and the County by matching students with County departments based on the students’ interests, skills, and future career goals, so that the students will seriously consider a career in the County.
The Government Fellowship Program is an opportunity for students to get meaningful insight on projects the County undertakes. Some of the projects Fellows have worked on include:
- Qualitative analysis of the County of Santa Clara’s Budget Equity Tool to assess how well departments address and contribute to equity and inclusion
- County branding for the Voter’s Choice Act
- Research focused on examining experiences of bisexual erasure and their impacts on the health and well-being of bisexual adults living, working, and studying in the County of Santa Clara
- Literature review on topics related to Transgender Recruitment and Employment Retention
- Resource Management Project for Technology Services and Solutions (TSS) to provide management insight into project timelines, capacity, and team building using tools such as Microsoft Excel and Progressive Web Apps (PWA)
- Outreach partnerships with non-profit organizations to refer homeless populations to resources and services
- Evaluate emerging Surveillance Technologies, such as Facial Recognition and system monitoring technologies
- Develop a plan for youth programming and outreach to Queer & Asian communities as part of the Vietnamese American Service Center
- Analyze demographic data from the Public Health Department to identify trends in income and language spoken at home, which affect volume of Vector Control District Services
- Identify strategies from current literature to design a multifaceted action plan to tackle low retention rates among minority physicians and nurses
- Support implementation of a project charter to integrate doulas into the County hospital system, to address a vital gap in maternal care
Fellows receive a stipend of between $8,000 and $10,000 to help offset reasonable living expenses for a term of up to 10 weeks during the summer months. Fellows are also afforded many opportunities to network with each other and with professionals in their area(s) of interest.
Interested in applying? More information can be found here.
Want to learn more about what the County of Santa Clara does? A list of the County Agencies and Departments can be found here.