Opportunities for All - San Francisco - June 15 to July 23, 2020

About the Program

During this 6-week virtual Summer program, thirty-nine (39) San Francisco Bay Area Interns and Fellows teamed up to develop and present virtual tours of the Bay Area’s environmental infrastructure. They learned about specific job requirements, salaries, and the educational pathways leading to careers in these vital infrastructure services.

They interacted with twenty-three (23) Bay Area and national professional guest speakers from the across the public, private, non-profit, advocacy, and educational sectors.

In doing so, the Interns:

● Built their knowledge base of “mission-critical” jobs in environmental infrastructure
● Networked with local and national professionals-including Bay Area employers.
● Gained an understanding of infrastructure career pathways and career-readiness
● Learned about the skills and training needed to qualify for these opportunities.

Program Outcomes

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Participants took a Post Program Knowledge and Interest Survey. A graphical summary of their responses is shown to the left.

54% are now interested learning more about infrastructure careers

80% want to learn more about job search tools and employment strategies.

71% want to expand their networks, career, educational, and professional development opportunities

During the summer program, we also secured a number of additional resources on behalf of the Interns and Fellows:

Complementary professional level memberships were donated by the California Water Environment Association (CWEA)

One intern earned a three-week, on-campus transportation study scholarship for Summer 2021 from the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University.

Two Fellows and one Intern had exploratory interviews; one with a law firm and two with a private energy firm.

Student Testimonials

"I learned about how there are so many opportunities in the public infrastructure industry.

I learned about how all these careers are essentially crucial so there will always be demand for jobs."

"I am now leaning towards working in the environmental infrastructure sector."

"There are many careers in sustainability, this includes those in the arts, private consulting, advocacy and activism, entrepreneurial, government and public service, non-profits, operations, and private industry."

"I appreciated the diversity of the speakers, especially regarding their backgrounds and how they got to their current employers."

"I am much less scared of presenting in front of a large [audience]”

"I am now looking into environmental law and considering it as a career path."

"I learned about what environmental justice is, which is the meaningful participation and fair treatment of all people regarding environmental regulations and laws."

"Environmental infrastructure is indispensable yet invisible to most. But thanks to this program, I can see it clearly now."

"I've already had a few informational interviews with professionals who spoke with us and I'm excited to career search."

"This program motivated me to look for more internship opportunities and start connecting with others through LinkedIn..." "...through OFA, I learned how to effectively use LinkedIn to network..."