SA¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½

This summer, I have had the opportunity to work for the L.A. Mayor’s Office of Energy and Sustainability, focusing on sustainability and the Olympics, through the Justice Summer Internship program, run by SA¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½â€™s Urban and Environmental Policy (UEP) department and the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute (UEPI).

I’m a rising senior from Northern Virginia, near D.C., majoring in UEP, with a minor in Spanish and a passion for urban design and sustainability! I had previously heard about the UEP/UEPI summer internship program—from both professors and other students—and it always sounded like a cool opportunity. I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay in L.A. over the summer since it’s far from home and sounded daunting at first. But after studying abroad in Berlin last fall and being back with my friends on campus in the spring, I felt like I had to take advantage of the opportunity to dive into urban and sustainability issues in L.A.. I also thought it would be so fun to spend a summer in the city while working.

It took me a while to figure out which program I wanted to participate in. There are a multitude of options—such as urban agriculture, public health, and affordable housing—which all sounded interesting to me. I had done a community organizing internship the summer before back at home, so I was interested in what it would be like to do an internship in the public sector, specifically in city government. Having access to an internship in city government through SA¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ is still so amazing to me, because getting an opportunity like this is quite challenging otherwise. As a lover of the Olympics, I thought this was a cool concept for an internship, especially because big events like this can be really impactful for a city—either positively or negatively. The legacy of the Olympics is an incredibly important one.

Now I get to take an elevator up to the 17th floor of City Hall four days out of the week. It’s a really exciting, unique opportunity and I’m still in awe every day that I get to work every day with really wonderful people who care a lot about the work they do. And I can’t lie, it’s also really cool to have a city badge and my own desk. The office has an open floor plan and fairly small staff, so I’ve been able to learn a lot from my colleagues every day. They have all been very willing to take me out for coffee or meet one-on-one to talk about their careers and get a sense of my interests which has been really helpful for me in terms of thinking about my future.

This first project I was tasked with was writing a report on artificial turf, an issue that the city has been grappling with for some time. There are advocacy groups that argue for a complete ban, and then there are scientific studies that explore the pros and cons in terms of environmental and human health. My job was to review all of these scientific studies and create a literature review on the topic. In my second project, I’m researching electrification as a part of my supervisor’s efforts to electrify as many vehicles around the city as possible. I’m mapping the distribution centers of different companies (food and beverage, parcel and linen services) and researching their current sustainability efforts so my supervisor can have a better sense of the fleets (trucks and big rigs) that should be targeted for electrification initiatives.

Attending meetings with different staff in my office has been one of my favorite aspects of my internship—watching different departments come together to solve problems, hearing everyone’s perspectives, and witnessing their collaboration has been very inspiring!

Through this internship, I’ve seen just how complex city government is. Los Angeles is a huge metropolitan area, and there are numerous moving parts that most people never notice. Getting a peek behind the curtain on how the city operates—with budget constraints or in the midst of crises like L.A. has been experiencing—has been really eye-opening. One of the best parts of this program is the weekly cohort dinners and meetings with our program advisor Professor Matsuoka, at the UEP Department house (next to FEAST Garden). It’s been a great space for all of us to share our experiences and work through all of the complex things happening around us right now. There are three other SA¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ students interning in City Hall with me, and we’ve been commuting to work together (via the Gold/A Line!), which has been a highlight of my time at City Hall.

This experience has definitely added a whole new layer to my education, as I find myself drawing on what I’ve learned in class while working on real, concrete projects. That’s part of the appeal of doing an internship while at a liberal arts school—you really get to see the intersection of everything you’re learning. It’s also definitely helped clarify what I want to do after college. I definitely see myself working in sustainability, urban planning, and/or public service. And I’d love to work in city government in the future!

If you’re an SA¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ student, regardless of your major, I highly recommend this program! It’s a great opportunity regardless of where you work and really fun to be in L.A. over the summer without the busyness of a class schedule. The time you’re in college is short and making the most of it (especially if you aren’t from L.A. or don’t plan on sticking around after graduation) is so important and incredibly rewarding. We are so lucky to have opportunities like this, so take advantage of them!