Community Fellows Blog Posts

As an international student at Santa Clara University, I’ve always wanted to step outside the Santa Clara bubble and engage with the local community. I go to San Jose often for its extremely vibrant downtown and diverse array of restaurants, and it has always fascinated me. I’ve often heard how small businesses form the backbone of the city’s economy, and now, as a Business Development Intern with the City of San Jose, I feel a sense of full-circle achievement. I used to admire the large City Hall building (with the rings on the outside) every time I passed by it, so it is quite amusing to me that I currently work there. My primary project involves helping to automate the Storefronts Assistance Grant distribution — a program designed to support small businesses by funding improvements to their exteriors and incentivizing more business owners to occupy the store units on the ground floor, which in turn makes the city more lively. My role involves designing a workflow to make this process faster, more efficient, and error-free. This hands-on experience has given me important insights into project ownership and stakeholder communication.Beyond my primary project, I’ve had the chance to contribute to other projects important
to the office. I recently analyzed data to identify the top 50 businesses in San Jose
based on employee count and am now automating this process using Python and Excel
to eliminate some of the busywork in the future. Additionally, I’m delving into sales tax
data aggregated by district to better understand the city’s economic landscape. These
projects are not only expanding my technical skills but also deepening my appreciation
for how data informs decision-making at a city-wide level.
All in all, being part of an office environment for the first time has been a valuable
experience. I’ve enjoyed meeting diverse people in the office, learning from their
perspectives, and seeing their passion for the city’s betterment. Looking ahead, I’m
eager to step further into the community by joining the team on visits to small
businesses and hearing firsthand from business owners about their challenges and
successes. I also plan to connect with other departments at City Hall, such as finance,
to broaden my understanding of local government operations. This internship has not
only been a professional milestone but also a meaningful way to contribute to a city I’ve
grown to admire!