California Boosts Student Internships and Career Pathways

[Archona Rani Saha]

Isaiah Alwin

The state superintendent stressed pay as a means to make learning accessible.



California is looking to place heavy emphasis on developing paid internships and career pathway programs, discussed at a summit Tuesday in Sacramento, available to watch on the California Department of Education’s facebook.

In one of the most expensive states to live in, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond focused heavily on the necessity of paid internships for teenagers and young adults in California. According to Thurmond, there are 200,000 homeless students and 10,000 living on their own, and some families are “slipping into poverty.”

For many people in California, unpaid internships are not financially possible, limiting their career opportunities.

“We want them to have access to a career, a trajectory that gives them a great life,” Thurmond said at Tuesday’s news conference. “Sometimes they struggle and they need dollars in their pocket.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who joined the summit via Zoom, pointed to $53 million from CalVolunteers that will connect 4,000 young people to jobs and training by May 1, 2024. This, she said, is a crucial part of supporting working class and underprivileged young people.

According to Ben Chida, a representative for Governor Gavin Newsom, there will also be $83 million in new permanent annual funding for CalVolunteers operations statewide.

Thurmond said that though “school is at the center of what we do,” the state wants to support students wherever they are, which means providing career advisement, counseling, and housing as well. He applauded the work of various organizations who have been active in this, but said “we can do more when we shoulder the load together.”

For many students at USC, internships are an essential step in pursuing a career.

Oliver Leinberger, a freshman majoring in cognitive science, said he hoped to get an internship because “the lessons you can learn from that kind of experience are unique to internships.”

At the same time, roughly two-thirds of students receive financial aid, and whether an internship is paid or unpaid can play a key role in whether a student can get that unique experience.

“I’ve done two internships — both were paid,” said Megan Maclay, a senior studying business. “I wouldn’t have done unpaid internships. I needed the money.”




Source: uscannenbergmedia.com © 2023 USC Annenberg Media
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