Santa Cruz Youth Gain Career Opportunities Through AHSC-Funded Internship Program
TL;DR
Santa Cruz Works and Digital NEST's AHSC internship program provides businesses with up to $10,000 funding to hire skilled interns, reducing hiring costs while accessing emerging talent.
The AHSC-funded program partners Santa Cruz Works for company recruitment and Digital NEST for intern training, offering six-month paid internships across ten local businesses with structured mentorship.
This initiative creates equitable career pathways for underserved youth while building community resilience through local employment opportunities that reduce commute distances and strengthen the regional economy.
Ten Santa Cruz companies from Climatize to Mission Hill Creamery are hosting paid interns like Julian Guerrero and Yuliana Morales-Galvan through this innovative community partnership.
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The collaboration between Santa Cruz Works and Digital NEST is providing valuable workforce development opportunities for young adults through the AHSC 2025–26 Internship Opportunity Program. Funded by the City of Santa Cruz through the California Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities grant, this initiative supports paid internships for underserved youth while assisting local businesses in accessing emerging talent.
The AHSC grant represents California's broader effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by promoting healthier communities through the integration of affordable housing with sustainable transportation and equitable economic opportunity. This internship program specifically advances that mission by connecting local talent to local employment opportunities, thereby reducing commute distances and fostering a more resilient regional economy. Ten local businesses have welcomed interns for six-month, paid positions through the program, with each participating company receiving up to $10,000 in grant funding to compensate their interns.
Santa Cruz Works, a nonprofit dedicated to cultivating a robust innovation ecosystem in Santa Cruz County, recruits the participating companies, while Digital NEST handles intern recruiting, training, and case management. Many interns come from bizzNEST, Digital NEST's youth-powered creative agency, where participants gain paid experience in digital marketing, software development, and design through real client projects before transitioning to these internship opportunities.
Bonnie Lipscomb, Director of Economic Development and Housing for the City of Santa Cruz, emphasized the program's significance, stating that it levels the playing field for residents who have faced systemic barriers to employment while eliminating cost concerns for businesses wanting to mentor and grow local talent. Cathy Wright, VP of Partnerships & Innovation at Digital NEST, highlighted the effectiveness of the earn-and-learn model in addressing youth employment challenges, noting that by providing paid experience, mentorship, and credentials within their own communities, the program prepares young people for wealth-building careers and contributes to a more equitable future.
The current cohort includes interns placed across various local companies, including Julian Guerrero at Climatize as a Video Production Intern, Yuliana Morales-Galvan at Nurbli as a Software & Development Intern, and Fernanda Jordan at X Academy as a Marketing Intern. Other placements include Julian Cabadas at Mission Hill Creamery, Elsa Tamayo at Siena House, Melanie Kate at Go Ask Alice, Edgar Robledo-Salgado at Santa Cruz Children's Museum of Discovery, Jared Esquivel at Innovation Within, Emily Ramirez at Clean Oceans International, and Katherine Sarna at Senior Legal Services.
Malina Long, Business Development and Programs Manager at Santa Cruz Works, expressed enthusiasm about the talent and energy these interns are bringing to local companies, predicting that their impact will ripple across the community for years to come. This partnership between Santa Cruz Works and Digital NEST represents a model for community-driven workforce development that simultaneously strengthens local companies, diversifies the talent pipeline, and ensures the next generation can build meaningful, sustainable careers within Santa Cruz County.
Curated from Newsworthy.ai
