Velocity Internship Program

The Vista Chamber of Commerce is a champion for a strong community. Strong communities cannot exist without a deep connection between local businesses and local talent. Earlier this year, the Vista Chamber introduced the Velocity Summer Internship Program, funded by a grant from the City of Vista. The newest workforce development initiative by the Vista Chamber, this paid internship program aims to encourage career exploration for local students while providing additional capacity to local employers. The summer internship program covered 100 hours of paid internship experience from mid-June through early August. The Chamber worked closely with schools to promote the program to high school seniors graduating in 2023. Rising high school seniors attending Vista schools and/or Vista residents were eligible to participate. To apply for the program, students completed a simple application which asked about career interests as well as logistical information regarding transportation needs and other supports. The students were encouraged to give us as much detail as possible, for us to gather and make those connections to the various opportunities with the participating businesses, setting them up for success! We received interest from students at Vista High, Mission Vista High, Rancho Buena Vista and Guajome Park Academy. The Chamber also promoted the program to Vista businesses and employers were asked to complete a participation form identifying the types of internships available at their company, whether they had hosted an intern before and other details. The students were employees of the Chamber and were assigned internship locations based on the career interest match. This summer, the program matched 45 students with 25 local businesses and non-profits. Students gained experience in government, non-profit, retail, journalism, marketing, social media, hospitality, customer service, early education, and health and wellness. Students received exposure to wellness and health environments with patients and clients in different spaces such as: yoga and chiropractic. Other students had opportunities to work with both large and small businesses doing administrative work, research and development, staging assistant and even film and video editing. For our future teachers, students had opportunities to tutor math and were also exposed to working with preschool and grade-school aged children assisting with summer camp. The business response to the program has been overwhelmingly positive. Anneliese from Operation-Hope said, “As a nonprofit, we rely highly on our interns and volunteers to help with keeping our shelter running smoothly. Both of our interns this summer have been vital to our team both on our admin and shelter side.” While Ryan from Nucave Construction said, “Everyone at the chamber was very helpful with the internship program. From making us aware that they were offering the program and checking in along the way. We are very happy that we have been able to utilize the internship program and Lizbeth has done a great job helping us with our social media needs....We are very pleased. Thanks again to the work of the chamber for making this all happen!” Some companies have expressed interest in maintaining a connection with their interns. Gaby from Nuspine Chiropractic said, “We are ecstatic with the interns we received. They are fast learners and bring joy into our workplace. We plan to continue to mentor them through college and support them however we can. We will absolutely bring on more interns when the time comes.”

Participating students enjoyed the experience as well. Isabelle J. said, “It’s really inspiring to be part of this program. You and your team are making a lot of really amazing opportunities for high schoolers like me!” and Sophia S. emailed, “I just wanted to say thank you so much for creating this wonderful opportunity for me and other seniors in the Vista District. This program is a great learning experience and a way for students like me who never have had a job before to get working experience. You and your team created simple and easy instructions to follow and sign up and provided different businesses to join. I have enjoyed the experience working with [my company] and others throughout this program. Thank you so much for having such a wonderful program.” The Chamber is grateful for these students and businesses’ participation in the Velocity Internship Program this summer. We are excited for these students as they begin their senior year and graduate. We cannot wait to see them do amazing things! We hope to continue to accelerate the careers of future participants. We encourage current juniors for the 2022/23 school year to consider applying for next year, as we look forward to the upcoming Summer of 2023! For information on the summer 2023 program, please visit our website: Velocity Summer Internship Program - Vista Chamber of Commerce www.vistachamber.org/velocity-summer-internship-program/