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SummerInternship

2019

2019 Internship Profile

Since its inception in 2017, the Go GreenInitiative’s Summer Internship program continues to train high school and collegelevel students in marketable career skillswhile learning the importance of sustainability. During the summer of 2019, the Go GreenInitiative hired 33 high school and collegelevel interns - our biggest class yet- tobenchmark the energy use of all 15Pleasanton Unified School District (PUSD)campuses and 24 City-owned facilities.The interns worked extensively to analyzeelectric and natural gas bills through theEPA’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager.

By analyzing data, the interns developedfindings and made recommendations to PUSDand the Pleasanton city council in the form ofreports and live presentations. Interns used public transportation to take fieldtrips to Oracle's Pleasanton campus and theDublin San Ramon Water Services Districtwater treatment facility. At Oracle, the internssaw solar panels and fuel cells in use, and gotinside information on how Oracle usestechnology to manage all the functions of thebuildings, including energy. At the watertreatment facility, interns learned howwastewater byproducts can be directed to ananaerobic digester to create electricity.

Go Green Initiative takes on its third summer internshipwith a focus on energy efficiency.

39 Facilities Benchmarked

3573 Intern Work Hours

360 Report Pages Written

16 Presentations

Check out our interns presenting to their schoolboard at https://tinyurl.com/ggipresentation

June 25, 2019 - PUSD school board trustees recognized the Go Green Initiative interns for their outstanding work inmaking Pleasanton a more sustainable community.

In addition to the energy benchmarkingproject, the interns were asked by the Cityof Pleasanton to interview communitymembers to further understand residents’knowledge and opinions on recycling,composting and waste management inPleasanton. Information was collectedthrough focus group discussions amongstvarious stakeholders found within thecommunity. By doing this, interns had thechance to facilitate a discussion andperform the various roles needed to hold afocus group discussion.

Focus Group Project 1,638,739 sq.ft.Building space benchmarked

$1 ,642 ,709 .84Potential taxpayer dollars saved on energybills

9Townhalls With SubjectMatter Experts

80Community MembersInterviewed

3055Potential annual metric tons of CO2 prevented

So, Who Are These "Interns"?

This summer Go Green Initiative had theopportunity to work with 33 brilliantinterns. Through our program, the interns worked atotal of 9 weeks. Each intern was exposed toenergy policy and climate change research,the challenges of enacting change at a locallevel, advocacy on behalf of their community,and the experience of completing auniversity-level project.

22 Current Amador High School student or graduates

9Current Foothill High Schoolstudent or graduates

1 Middle College

1 Athenian School

16 College interns

17 High School interns

3 students from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo study:

BiologyEnvironmental Management and Protection with aconcentration in Wildlife BiologyNutrition Science

3 students from UC Berkeley study:Data Science and Society & the EnvironmentComputer Science and Political Science Society and Environment

2 students from UC Davis study:EnglishEpigenetics

1 student from Boise State studies:Communications

1 student from Gonzaga University studies:Political Science and Sociology

1 student from Oregon State studies:Computer Science

1 student from Pomona College studies:Environmental Analysis

1 student from San Diego State Universitystudies:

Economics with emphasis in Public Policy1 student from UC Irvine studies:

Electrical Engineering1 student from UCLA studies

Computer Science with a minor in EnvironmentalEngineering

1 student from Washington State studiesBiology, minor in Psychology. Pursuing Masters inPublic Health

Our 17 College Interns Represent a WideRange of Universities and Fields of Study:

What our interns choose to studydemonstrates that it takes all types ofacademic backgrounds to strive forsustainability.

"I've learned significantly more aboutenvironmental issues and the efforts tocombat climate change. The news pelts uswith all of these doomsday reports, so it oftenfeels like there is nothing being done.However, California has incredibly thoroughand reader-friendly Climate ChangeAssessments. Also, I was surprised to seehow many projects the City of Pleasantonhad dedicated to sustainability. Despite theClimate Action Plan, which was animpressive road map, the city had severalwater management plans. I didn't giveenough credit to state and local government. Another major thing I've learned is how localgovernment works. I was aware that we hada mayor, city council, and staff, but neverunderstood their perspective. HavingCouncilman Penton and the City Managerpresent was valuable because it gave me agreater appreciation for local government."

- Quincy, UC Davis

More From Our InternsOn the last day of the internship, we asked our interns, "What are someof the most valuable lessons you learned this summer?"

"Learning how to present accurate andwell-researched information quickly andthoroughly was definitely one of thelargest takeaways this internship hasprovided me. While I was familiar withfinding reliable sources and creatingbasic slide presentations, I never had toput one together in the short time framesthat we did during the presentations. Theinternship also exposed me to differentresources I can use in the future in aprofessional, workplace environment."

- Meraf, UC Irvine

Our Internship Sponsors and Partners

"Thank you for supporting this initiative andsupporting students. Oftentimes, students wantto follow their passion but may be unsure abouthow they could make a living as an adult or howit would actually look like in the "real world." Butthis internship breaks that mindset that manyyoung students have. This internship putsenvironmental conservation and applies itdirectly to the real world, which is such a uniqueopportunity. It's also empowering to know thatthere's so many like-minded people who are justas dedication to the combating climate changeand making a difference in their community. So,thank you for supporting this internship."

- Lauren, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

"Thank you so much for supporting us, throughout the internship and helping uscontinue this work for the City of Pleasanton.We are grateful that there are sponsors like youwho want to want to encourage us in this wayand believe in today's youth to change our cityand district for the better. It is organizations likeyours that our keeping the internship going andbelieving in us to make change that will benefitus all."

- Elyse, Foothill High School

The Go Green Initiative acknowledges thefollowing businesses and public sectorpartners that have generously contributedto the GGI 2019 Summer Internshipprogram. Without their donations, thisinternship would not have been possible.A word of thanks from our interns:

Our SponsorsFlagship Sponsor $10,000

Youth Leadership $2,500

Youth Advocates $1,000

Youth Supporters $500

Public Sector Partners

Pleasanton

Youth

Commission