The Cal State Monterey Bay Collaborative Health and Human Services program held a mixer on Monday, April 22, to help students in the program find the right internship for their interests.

Program coordinator Adrienne Saxton said it was an opportunity for students to interact with community-based organizations and set up the three semesters of internships they are required to work for their degrees. The program is a pathway for students interested in careers in health and human services fields, which can be anything from social work to law enforcement to child welfare.  

“This is an incredible major,” said Saxton. “And we just keep growing.”

She said 50 employers and organizations were expected to be on hand for the 30 students in the program to meet with. 

Darrell Smith, a peer support specialist at Valley Health Associates, said his rehab agency currently has two CSUMB interns. They are able to help support the often overloaded staff. 

“They learn the steps of counseling,” Smith said. “They’re like a licensed clinician/social worker.”

Interns are expected to work eight hours a week and most are paid positions. 

Handi Hernandez is a CSUMB student and a victim advocate for the County of San Benito, Office of the District Attorney. She started work there in December as an intern. 

“This internship changed my life completely,” Hernandez said. 

Serving as a voice for victims of crime, she said, is far more gratifying for her than the medical-related work she’s been involved in. 

“I didn’t know what to expect, but I learned so much about myself,” she said. “When they offered me a position, I was happy to take it.”

She’s working in a temporary position while she finishes her degree and will begin full-time work once she graduates, she said. 

More information can be found on the CHHS website.