SVP Dinner & Career Meetup

On Wednesday, November 8th, Santa Clara University’s SCU Center for Sustainability enter for Sustainability, Enrollment Management Division, and the Career Center co-hosted a networking opportunity for current students with representatives from the City of Santa Clara and Silicon Valley Power , the City of Santa Clara’s not-for-profit municipal electric utility. Following the career meetup, a dinner was held to introduce the second cohort of Silicon Valley Power Sustainable Futures Scholars and Fellows. In attendance were representatives from SCU, and City of Santa Clara elected officials including the Honorable Mayor Lisa Gillmor , City Councilmembers Suds Jain and Kathy Watanabe , City of Santa Clara officials including Jōvan Grogan, City Manager / CEO of Silicon Valley Power, and Manuel Pineda, SVP Chief Electric Utility Officer.??

In the summer of 2022, Santa Clara University and Silicon Valley Power announced a new five-year Silicon Valley Power Sustainable Futures Program to enhance college access through scholarships and support project-based learning for undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds pursuing studies and careers in sustainability fields. “The City of Santa Clara is thrilled to be partnering with Santa Clara University on a scholarship program that encourages and advances our up-and-coming leaders in the field of sustainability,” said Mayor Lisa M. Gillmor. These events officially launched the second year of the partnership.

The gift from SVP annually provides up to four scholarships to incoming transfer students, which are continued throughout the students’ time at SCU thanks to ongoing support from SCU’s Financial Aid program. This year’s scholars are Eloisa Duarte, Hope Saena , and Mikias Z. “The SVP scholarships aim to invest in students’ passion and potential, cultivating their knowledge to empower them to drive positive change for a sustainable future,” said Eva Blanco Masias , Vice President of SCU Enrollment Management.

As this program aims to encourage diverse future leaders in sustainability, clean energy, and other related fields, a campus-wide networking opportunity was a natural outgrowth to help more students explore sustainability-related internships and jobs. The City of Santa Clara Career meetup was a rousing success with representatives from the City’s departments including Public Works, Community Development, and several representatives from Silicon Valley Power informally conversing with students, faculty, and alumni about roles related to sustainability, city planning, energy, electric vehicles, and other green job fields.

“It was so great to be able to connect with leaders in the City of Santa Clara this evening,” noted new Sustainable Futures Fellow Chrislyn Brandon, a junior double majoring in Psychology and Political Science. “I had really interesting conversations with different members of the City’s team – I was able to learn more about what they do. There are so many exciting ways to implement sustainability in the City and these connections will help my research project.”?

Sustainable Futures Fellows like Chrislyn receive a $5,000 research stipend as they work on a yearlong self-directed applied research project focused on a local climate or sustainability-related issue that supports equity and inclusion throughout the implementation of the City’s Climate Action Plan. All three fellows were in attendance – Sally Walsh , a senior Psychology major with Sustainability and Environmental Studies minors, is eager to begin her project as is junior Emil Chaia , a Finance major with International Business and TIDTEM (Technical Innovation, Design Thinking, and the Entrepreneurial Mindset Minor) minors. Alumni Sustainable Futures Fellow Declan Bernal , SCU ‘23 returned to campus for the event: “It was wonderful to see what this year's Fellows are up to and to chat with so many amazing people.”

Scholars and Fellows continued these conversations over a vegan dinner with City representatives, where Jōvan Grogan, Santa Clara City Manager shared, “We are so excited to be here today to support this next generation of change makers, innovators and leaders in sustainability and welcome the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from you all as we all work together to create a more sustainable and resilient future.”

Up next for this year’s cohort of 12 Scholars and Fellows: tailored career development programming with SCU’s Career Center to prep these future graduates to put their best foot forward in job interviews. City of Santa Clara hiring managers will be invited back for on-campus interviews in a few months to test them out, hoping to fill vacant internship and professional positions. “The success of the Silicon Valley Power Sustainable Futures Program is a powerful example of why employers should invest in students early on in their career journey. We hope to use this as a model for future partnerships with other employers,” said Dylan H. , Executive Director of SCU’s Career Center.

?“We’ve seen how students get a deeper perspective and hands-on experience through project opportunities in this partnership which is why we are so excited to welcome SCU’s Career Center to this collaboration. It’s always been our collective hope to broaden the impact of SCU’s relationship with the City to include internships,” said Lindsey Kalkbrenner , Director of SCU’s Center for Sustainability. “I’m looking forward to seeing how this year’s cohort will grow through these opportunities.”?

Read more about the Silicon Valley Power Sustainable Futures Program

Learn more about this year’s fellows.

About Santa Clara University

Founded in 1851, Santa Clara University sits in the heart of Silicon Valley—the world’s most innovative and entrepreneurial region. The University’s stunningly landscaped 106-acre campus is home to the historic Mission Santa Clara de Asís. Ranked among the top 15 percent of national universities by U.S. News & World Report, SCU has among the best four-year graduation rates in the nation and is rated by PayScale in the top 1 percent of universities with the highest-paid graduates. SCU has produced elite levels of Fulbright Scholars and four Rhodes Scholars. With undergraduate programs in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, and graduate programs in six disciplines, the curriculum blends high-tech innovation with social consciousness grounded in the tradition of Jesuit, Catholic education. www.scu.edu.

About the City of Santa Clara

Located at the heart of Silicon Valley, about 45 miles south of San Francisco, the City of Santa Clara truly is “The Center of What’s Possible.” Incorporated in 1852, Santa Clara covers an area of 19.3 square miles with a population of 120,000. Santa Clara is home to an extraordinary array of high-tech companies, including Applied Materials, Intel, Nvidia, Oracle, and Ericsson. The City of Santa Clara is also home to Santa Clara University, California’s Great America Theme Park, and Levi’s? Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers and Super Bowl 50. For more information, go to www.SantaClaraCA.gov.

About Silicon Valley Power

Silicon Valley Power (SVP) is the trademark adopted for use by the not-for-profit electric municipal utility of Santa Clara, CA, serving residents and businesses for over 125 years. SVP provides power to over 57,000 customers, at rates 25 to 53 percent below neighboring communities. SVP is the only full service, vertically integrated publicly owned utility in Silicon Valley owning generation, transmission and distribution assets. See more at: www.siliconvalleypower.com.

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Photo credit: Jim Gensheimer