Meet the 2017 ‘B’ BOLD Interns:
Building Bridges through Outreach Leadership Development
Salvador Leon & Victoria Esquivel
Salvador Leon is a 17-year old student entering his senior year at Santa Ana High School. His favorite subject is English. He first heard about the ‘B’ BOLD internship through an email from his school counselor. When asked why he decided to apply, Salvador said that he “liked that Clearinghouse CDFI helps the community and it was a good opportunity.” He plans to apply to UC Berkeley this fall.
Victoria Esquivel is a 17 year-old student entering her senior year at Godinez High School. Her favorite subject is math. She first heard about the ‘B’ BOLD internship through her neighborhood community center, where Clearinghouse CDFI staff volunteers. When asked why she decided to apply, Victoria also said that she “likes that Clearinghouse CDFI helps its community.” She plans to apply to UCI this fall.
Mini Intern Q & A
Here’s what Salvador and Victoria had to say about their ‘B’ BOLD internship experience after their first week with Clearinghouse CDFI:
Q: What do you hope to get out of the ‘B’ BOLD Program:
Salvador: “I want to see how real business works, learn more about marketing and coding. I want to be able to recommend it to other students.”
Victoria: “I want to develop useful skills that will help me in the long run to be more sociable with people around me. I want to learn to communicate with them so we can work together towards common goals.”
Q: What are your life goals/dreams?
Salvador: “I want to work in the criminal justice field, like for the FBI.”
Victoria: “I want to work in law enforcement, maybe CSI. One day, I’d like to own my own home, have children, and take care of my parents because they’ve done so much for me.”
Q: As you begin your internship with Clearinghouse CDFI, what are your thoughts?
Salvador: “As a person who likes to help the community it intrigued me to apply to the Clearinghouse CDFI ‘B’ BOLD Internship for what they do. I’m here because the internship is a great opportunity to experience having a job and to learn different departments. The environment here at Clearinghouse CDFI is very welcoming and calm. It is like a huge family here and everyone at Clearinghouse CDFI is delightful and fun. What I hope to get out of this internship is a whole new perspective on things and how the “real world”, after high school, works. I also hope for the experience to help me in the future in my career and that all the skills I learned will benefit me.”
Victoria: “I decided to apply for the ‘B’ BOLD Internship because I knew it would be a great opportunity to gain knowledge about finance, loans, and to learn about CDFIs. I had never heard of a company that was CDFI, so I was curious about that. During my time as an intern here at Clearinghouse CDFI, I hope to develop skills that will benefit me in the long run and to experience the work atmosphere created by the employees. I also knew this would be a great opportunity because I would be given a scholarship at the end, which will be of great help to me. I will use the scholarship to continue pursuing my education. I thank Clearinghouse CDFI for making this possible.”
About the ‘B’ BOLD Internship Award Program
Inspired by the values of the B Corp community to “build bridges,” the ‘B’ BOLD initiative was created by Clearinghouse CDFI to empower and develop the next generation of leaders. Clearinghouse CDFI, with the support and generosity of its community partners, offers an annual summer internship program for college-bound high school juniors and seniors hailing from low-income families.
The program aims to expose internship awardees to a real-life professional setting, provide job experience, and provide access to positive role models. The Allen Peters Baldwin ‘B’ BOLD Internship Program will help empower youths from low-income areas that do not have access to the same resources and opportunities.
Clearinghouse CDFI believes it is important to build a bridge to the next generation so that tomorrow’s leaders will continue to build mission driven businesses.
‘B’ BOLD Program Dedication
Clearinghouse CDFI is proud to dedicate the B BOLD Internship Award Program to Allen Peters Baldwin for his commitment to helping low-income families through Orange County Community Housing Corporation – SteppingUP. Mr. Baldwin embodies the spirit of the ‘B’ BOLD program with his ongoing dedication to serving others.
