Seaside internship shows students city’s inner workings

By Mark Muckenfuss

Eden Magana is feeling a little bit closer to her dream of becoming a lawyer.

The Cal State Monterey Bay senior and communications major is one of 10 interns working this semester with the City of Seaside under a new cooperative program aimed at pre-law students. She landed a coveted spot working with the city attorney.

“It’s been a good exposure that I otherwise would not have had,” Magana said. “It gives me the confidence to pursue a legal career, to really go after it.”

Work on the new agreement began last summer. City Councilperson Alexis Garcia-Arrazola, a CSUMB alum, brought the idea to both Mayor Ian Oglesby, who is a member of the CSUMB Foundation Board, and the former dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Juanita Cole. Working with CSUMB’s Nicole Hollingsworth, director of Governmental and External Relations, and now-retired Professor David Reichard, they put together the program.  

The Seaside City Council approved funding for the program in the spring, providing a $700 scholarship stipend for each of the 10 interns and paying them $18 an hour for 100 hours they put in over the semester. 

“As a former alum, I realize how important internships were in figuring out a path for myself,” Garcia-Arrazola said, adding he wants others to have that opportunity. “Hopefully, we can continue to do this in summer and have a more detailed program. The students love it and the department heads love it.”

Seaside human resources specialist Melissa Failauga said the city has had occasional single internships in the past, but nothing like the new program. Students were allowed to pick the department they wanted to work for, although many did not get their first choice. Still, she said she has heard only positive feedback from students and city administrators. 

“So far so good,” Failauga said. “At first we were unsure of how the students would feel about specific departments, other than the city attorney’s office, which everyone wanted. We were a little concerned they might feel [other departments might not be] as beneficial. But everyone’s been getting a lot of great information.”

Business administration major Ashley Ferreyra said she wasn’t sure what she’d be doing when she came to the city’s engineering department. She’s done such varied things as sending out notices alerting residents to construction in their neighborhoods, mapping the city’s water system and learning how the administration works.

“I’ve worked a lot of jobs while in college but nothing to do with business administration,” Ferreyra said. “I’ve been shadowing an administrative assistant. It's exciting to see what he does on a day-to-day basis. It's been very eye-opening and, for me, it really secured my major. It is something I would really like to do when I graduate.”

Ferreyra is one of the few students in the program without a pre-law concentration, said Kaiqi Hua, an assistant professor of legal studies and civic engagement who took on oversight of the program after Reichard retired. Seeing how government operates, he said, is a benefit for students planning to pursue careers in law or public service. 

“It will be helpful for the students to see how the city works,” Hua said, “not just participating in the daily operations of the city government but also attending city council meetings, or visiting local courts, so the students can learn more about how local democracy works and how to advocate for public interests.”

He said the cooperative agreement is good for both the university and the city. 

“Seaside was a pioneer that kindly offered this grant,” he said. “It will help students have hands-on experience working with the public. In return, this will benefit the City of Seaside as well.”

Ferreyra said she already feels she’s benefited from her experience. 

“It has given me a broader perspective,” she said, adding that she’s had to adapt to a number of different tasks that were new to her. “It’s made me realize I can do anything I have a passion for.”