For the past three years, Multnomah County government has invited Act Six Scholars to apply and compete for the Office of Diversity and Equity College to County Mentorship Program.
The ODE College to County Mentorship Program exposes college students to a variety of county careers so they will consider the county for employment once they graduate. These students are chosen for their solid academics and leadership potential.
The program offers three months temporary employment doing substantive work on county projects, systems, or processes. While performing the work, they gain knowledge, skills, and abilities required to secure positions in their assigned project area and they are oriented to the county’s recruitment process. They grow to understand the organization’s role in carrying out the county’s mission and gain a greater appreciation for public service.
Out of 29 summer positions this year, 14 of them were Act Six Scholars and 6 were Warner Pacific College Scholars!
Here’s what they are up to this summer:
Jaques Anderson: DART Intern
I visited communities all over the city of Portland with the intent to verify Multnomah County Property Tax records.
Jessie Osuna-Mondragon: Community Information/ Referral Intern
I spent my days reaching out to people in different communities within our county. My partners and I helped low-income individuals apply for SNAP (food stamps) as well as other human service resources.
Gimena Olguin: Hospital Research Intern
I worked for the Division of Assessment, Recording & Taxation analyzing financial data submitted by Oregon hospitals under IRS 501(c)(3) tax exemption status and populating specific information into existing tax calculation spreadsheets.
Bronson Enos: Community Information/ Referral Intern
I worked with several communities in Portland and spoke at shelters and various organizations about resources the county provides. The hope was to assist low income people access resources such as signing up for food stamps, energy assistance, medical, and dental help as well as weatherization (home repairs). The goal is to help them save money and discover what they didn’t know before.
Angel Castanada: DART Intern
I worked on a Tax Exemption team ensuring compliance with property tax laws, verifying that exemptions are properly applied. This is a combination of field and office work.
Jose Morales: Service Catalog/IT Intern
In the IT Department I did a little bit of everything such as working with the Multnomah County servers that house the websites and storage. I also worked at the desk to help people within the county who were having issues with their computers. I completed a phone-enrolling project. I also installed new phones in all the clinics and helped instruct users on the new equipment.