Building professional networks in park resource management, working directly with nurse mentors, and learning career-critical design software on the job count among early wins scored by 12 West Valley College students benefiting from the Gore Family Internship Fund.
“You have single-handedly saved me from entering the debt repayment cycle of student loans,” wrote design intern Samantha Krivanek, a disabled student veteran, in a note of appreciation to Kimberly Hawkins-Gore and Howard Gore.
The philanthropic pair created the Gore Family Internship Fund to address the challenge that arises when an employer offers an internship opportunity for West Valley students but has no budget to pay them. Through the Internship Fund, the college provides direct financial support to unpaid interns, allowing students from low-income backgrounds or parenting students to gain essential professional experience without losing income or incurring a financial burden.
Parenting student Charlotte Boccone secured a paralegal internship in the office of a public defender, experience that boosted her resume’s appeal and her confidence in applying for jobs. “This internship has been my foot in the door into my new field, and I don’t know how I would have gotten started without it,” she said.
Krivanek, a straight-A student, said her skillset and confidence in her abilities skyrocketed post-internship. The investment the Gores made in her and her West Valley peers, she vowed, will not go to waste, adding, “I will make it my life’s mission to get to a point where I too can give back to deserving students.”
Following a June 3 meet-and-greet over pizza where the Gores met WVC student interns, the family enthusiastically offered to increase funding to the paid internship program from the original $50,000 annually to $50,000 each semester.