Arts & Culture
Humanities students get real-world experience through summer programs
This past summer, 26 UC Santa Cruz humanities students had immersive work experiences across California in media offices, city government, museum curatorial work, nonprofit organizations and literary publishing— the result of two university programs, the Summer Humanities EXCEL program and HumLaunch. Both are designed to translate humanistic study into professional experiences.
HumLaunch mentees Madelynn Laventure and Charlotte Flukey doing Miracle Messages outreach.
This past summer, 26 UC Santa Cruz humanities students had immersive work experiences across California in media offices, city government, museum curatorial work, nonprofit organizations and literary publishing— the result of two university programs, the Summer Humanities EXCEL program and HumLaunch. Both are designed to translate humanistic study into professional experiences.
Taken together, the two programs reflect a broader push within the Humanities Division to demonstrate that a humanities education translates directly into real-world skill and professional opportunity, from city government to museum curatorial work and literary publishing.
The Summer EXCEL program paired a 10-week, project-based internship with an academic course, HIS 198S, taught by Humanities Dean Jasmine Alinder. Students spent around 25 hours a week embedded in host organizations in the greater Los Angeles area, documenting their experiences through field notes and supervisor feedback and connecting what they observed to coursework on public humanities and community engagement.
“Nearly 20% of our Humanities students come from Los Angeles County, and many return home during the summer to live, work, and contribute to their local communities,” said Maya Woolfe, director of student engagement in the Humanities Division.“By creating a regional Humanities EXCEL program in Los Angeles, we were able to meet students where they live and provide access to meaningful, paid internships without requiring them to deal with the high cost of living in Santa Cruz County over the summer.”
This experience enabled these students to make a positive impact in their own communities while developing the skills, experience, and professional connections that will support their future careers.
Participants received up to $4,000 in scholarship support along with 10 units of tuition-free course credit.
The internships matched students with a range of organizations. Six interns worked across community engagement, programs, and workshops at 826LA, a nonprofit writing and tutoring organization. Others took positions at the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, the Fowler Museum at UCLA, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the UC Humanities Research Institute, and the City of Riverside Mayor’s Office.
At the Riverside Mayor’s Office, Lynnette Garcia (College Nine, literature, ‘29) worked on a social media video for the Climate Mayors Stories of Impact Challenge, a national direct-to-camera social media competition for member cities to showcase local climate solutions.
The film was selected as a winner among 40 submissions nationwide, bringing $5,000 in in-kind donations to the city’s climate work. The winners were formally announced during the Climate Mayors Leadership Forum on September 23rd during New York Climate Week. Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson attended the event. The video has been posted publicly on the Mayor’s Instagram.
At 826LA, Andrew Porras (Porter, philosophy and anthropology, ‘27) overhauled the orientation training modules used for incoming high school interns, streamlining a process that consumed hours of staff time.
“The most rewarding part was knowing that I was aiding in promoting literacy to youth in Los Angeles and connecting with a community of people that were so passionate about it,” Porras said.
For many students, the internship experiences reshaped how they saw their humanities degrees translating into careers. Jaya Chaun (Oakes, ‘27), a critical race and ethnic studies major who interned at 826LA, said the work pushed her to “think critically about the work I do, how it impacts my team, how it impacts the community, and how it impacts the children we serve.”
At UCLA’s Fowler Museum, Rhea Vakil (Kresge, literature and history of art and visual culture, ‘28) spent the summer compiling and organizing research for a future exhibition, cataloging more than 300 groups of objects and narrowing them into a workable framework of roughly 80 groups. “It took a lot of time and research to compile the list,” she said. “I’m really proud of it.”
Senior curator Erica Jones praised her work: “Rhea, in 10 weeks, took care of a project that has been on my mind for years. This is no small feat.”
Host supervisors said the UC Santa Cruz interns became indispensable. Wendy Beltran of 826LA, who worked with interns Jocelyn Bolus (Rachel Carson, linguistics, ‘29), and Alondra Alezano (Kresge, critical race and ethnic studies, ‘29), wrote that the pair “received a year’s worth of experience in the 10 weeks,” adding that the organization’s summer programming would not have been possible without them.
“They are wonderful young people, and having them be with us for the last 10 weeks has been incredible not just for our work but for our growth,” Beltran said. “The time frame for this internship landed at a time window that worked so well for us. They got to experience planning, summer programming, our professional development, and even got to start off the school year with me.”
“Having two trained interns to start the fall semester opened up so much space and opportunity to serve students that I normally would have done myself,” Beltran continued. “I have seen them both grow and take my ideas and interpret them into tangible products and resources for our organization and students. I could write an entire novel about how incredible Alondra and Jocelyn are.”
At the UC Humanities Research Institute, Caitlyn Miller (Porter, politics major and philosophy minor, ‘28) built two alumni databases and interviewed university administrators, alumni, and board members to produce a feasibility study that will help shape the institute’s fundraising strategy.
Chloe Smith, who interned at the Los Angeles Review of Books, said “hearing so many talented and successful people in the publishing industry speak about how the humanities has helped them in their lives, I feel a kind of reassurance that I can go anywhere with the experience that I hold.”
Rhea Vakil, who had no prior connections in the art world, called the Fowler Museum internship “an amazing opportunity… to learn the inner workings of the field, meet professionals, and also have something very important to put on my resume.”
HumLaunch: immersive work experiences with UC Santa Cruz alumni
A second program, HumLaunch, took a different approach — connecting students directly with UC Santa Cruz humanities alumni for short-term job shadowing and project placements, with students receiving $100 a day in scholarship support.
Eight alumni mentors participated this year, spanning fields from journalism to law to nonprofit strategy. Lily Belli (Stevenson, ‘11), a history alumna and food and drink correspondent for Lookout Santa Cruz, hosted literature major Kathleen Harrison (Merrill, ‘27) for a day exploring a local newsroom, including a meeting with Lookout‘s executive editor.
“I went in with two questions,” Harrison said. ‘’What jobs are available in this field and what’s the best path for them? I feel like she was really great at answering all my questions and showing me how her organization runs. She also introduced me to her coworkers, who were able to share their experiences as well.”
Attorney Rebekah Mojica (Merrill, philosophy, ‘19) hosted Amara Collins (Cowell, ‘28), a CRES and politics major who aspires to a career trajectory similar to Rebekah’s. “Even small pieces of encouragement, perspective, or advice can make a difference,” Rebekah said. “The experience has also reminded me of how valuable mentorship and having someone in your corner can be, especially when navigating the early stages of a career.”
Other alumni offered multi-week project placements rather than single-day shadowing. Dillon Auyoung (Crown, linguistics, ’90), an independent advisor and strategist, supervised two students on separate three-week projects documenting summer youth programming for the Community Youth Center of San Francisco.
“Participating in the inaugural HumLaunch program has been one of the most genuinely rewarding experiences of my professional life — and I don’t say that lightly after 25+ years across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors,” Auyong said.
Professionally, this experience reaffirmed his belief in the power of community-based learning and the importance of building bridges between higher education and the social sector.
“It also reconnected me to my own roots — teaching EFL, running cultural exchange programs, working at the YMCA of Greater San Francisco — and reminded me why I gravitated toward social impact work in the first place,” Auyong said.
One of Auyong’s student mentees, Ayla Sana (John R. Lewis, CRES and psychology, ‘28), said the program helped shape their academic life, identity and career.
“Being able to connect with youth and being able to share the stories they had with the program was such a fulfilling way to spend my summer,” Sana said. “As a Critical Race and Ethnic Studies major, I have learned how important it is for people to understand one’s community and to give back to their communities when they can.”
Marlena De Castro (Stevenson, ‘22), a feminist studies and politics alumna, brought on literature majors Charlotte Flukey (Oakes, ‘27) and Madelynn Laventure (Kresge, ‘27) for a four-week project at Miracle Messages of Santa Cruz County, where they completed program referrals and got to experience first-hand what people-focused direct outreach work looks like. “It was a joy to partner with students and give them an opportunity to explore a potential career path,’’ De Castro said.
David Gleason (Merrill, Russian literature, ‘70), a content strategist for a start-up borrowing and lending platform called AktiveShare, hosted two students for a five-day market research project — and found the exchange went both ways. “I had to leave some assumptions at the door and ask them to share their perspectives, before I could offer meaningful guidance,” he said. “It helped me become more aware of similarities and differences in our experiences and approaches.”
For Chloe Parsley (Oakes, feminist studies, ‘27), a HumLaunch student hosted by Andrew Cunningham (Crown, anthropology, ‘08) of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Cruz County, the experience was life-changing. “I feel like there is a whole world that has opened up to me,” she said.