On June 29, the SFPUC, Young Community Developers, and Ignited will kick-off the ninth CityWorks Summer Internship Program and the first one to be conducted virtually.
This paid internship will empower and inspire 20 students and young adults from the Bayview-Hunters Point community through interactive projects and mentorship opportunities – showing them firsthand the vast career opportunities available to them within the utilities sector. The program, supported by the SFPUC’s Social Impact Partnership private firms, specifically strives to increase the number of women and underrepresented minorities within the fields of architecture and urban design, engineering, finance and accounting, communications and government relations, and operations and environmental management.
“I hope this year’s interns take advantage of this opportunity to learn from this unique experience. Because CityWorks is virtual, we want to help stretch and accelerate the interns’ growth by being intentional and embedding sought after competencies into the program. Two competencies that we are highlighting this year are accountability and adaptability,” said Ronnie Versher, SFPUC Workforce Development Manager.
Rufaro Chirairo, a 2019 CityWorks intern. 
2019 CityWorks internship program kick off. 
Ayanni King, a 2019 CityWorks intern.
“We are moving forward with virtual internships this year because now more than ever, it is important to invest in opportunities for young people. Communities like Bayview-Hunters Point are being impacted by the economic and medical effects of COVID-19 at an especially high rate. Young adults in the Bayview-Hunters Point deserve access to real-world experiences that will help them gain the skills and competencies to succeed in their future careers,” said Versher.
Versher shared that Ignited has decades of experience customizing project-based learning experiences and career exposure and hosted teacher externships at the SFPUC since 2016. In addition, the expectations of a firm volunteer will be different from the previous years’ role as an intern site supervisor. The purpose of this document is to describe the role, responsibilities and expectations for all the CityWorks partners as well firms’ volunteers to support this virtual internship.
SFPUC 