This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at San Francisco chapter.
For Nancy Delgado, a Parks and Recreation major at SF State, the last four years have been a crazy whirlwind of fun experiences and work, and now after four years at SF State, one of our own memember of Her Campus San Francisco is graduating in only a few short weeks. Congratulations Nancy!
What volunteer places and projects have you worked on, what did you enjoy the most about the experience?
Over the past two years I’ve dedicated a frequent amount of volunteer hours to a few organizations (and jobs) because my major requires 600 hours of services within and outside our area of emphasis. For instance, I was a running coach for a non-profit called Girls on the Run of the Bay Area where myself and two other co-coaches facilitated bi-weekly running activities that focused on female empowerment and overall healthy living in preparation for a 5k run at the end of the season. This was actually my first real experience working with kids! Another favorite job I had that counted for hours was being a Brand Ambassador/ PR, Event Manager for Boohoo.com
So you intern at Valencia 826, the non-profit. What does the organization specialize in and what are your roles and day to day work like there? Like I know you work with kids but what do you work with them, homework?
So, 826 Valencia is a non-profit that provides educational programs for under resourced youth for ages 6-18 in the Mission Area of San Francisco. There’s tons of programs including our after school tutoring program which is held on site. My roles is an educational programming intern and I support AST, but my real focus this semester had been on parent engagement and involvement and planning a series of parent workshops based on the needs and wants of these families. I could go on forever about what I’ve done and learned this semester but I’ll leave it at that, haha.
What is the best part about working at the internship? /// Why did you want to work at 826 valencia? what drew you them?
Y’know, I’ve been telling myself this a lot lately. Especially with getting older and gaining more experience in the workforce. You really don’t know were you’re going unless you know where you’re coming from. Don’t forget where you came from, and that essentially reflects on your childhood and how you grew up to be the person you are today. I new I wanted to serve a greater purpose in this world, and a lot of that reflect on me being a first generation Latina graduating from a four year institution. So, when I looked into 826 Valencia and the services they provide, I was hooked. It had all the qualities i was looking for when searching for an internship: Nonprofit administration, event planning and educational programming. They hold strong values to give back to the community, the staff is extremely hard working and some of the nicest people you will ever work with. Plus, the Pirate Supply Store is worth checking out as well!
Why did you choose to be a parks and rec major?
So, I came to SFSU as an undeclared major thinking I was going to end up in some physical or biological science, and here I am now graduating as a Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration major. Funny thing is, I took a GE course my freshman year under the RPT department (RPT 220) in the same class where all my RPT courses have been since! The course was designed in a unique way and was combination of work and play, and eventually I learned that’s what the major is all about. You learn about leadership and management theories, and eventually put those to practice with group projects. The major is heavily based on hands on experience and serving the community, which suited me perfectly. Honestly, I don’t regret choosing this major at all. We are such a close-knit cohort, its amazing. So, if anybody wants to take any fun courses, check out the RPT department!
What are some things you would like to improve on about yourself and what do you think your friends or family would suggest?
There’s a lot I want to do post-graduation. First and foremost, I really want to take a break from everything. Participating in some self reflection activities should be a necessity for everybody to do some time in their life. I want to continue practicing my leadership skills in my community (San Jose) and gain more confidence in my skills and competencies, maybe find some volunteer opportunities here and there. I also want to gain more confidence physically and live a healthier lifestyle by running long distance along trails, which San Jose has a lot of. Family wise, I know for a fact that my mom wants me to continue my education therefore I’ll be pursuing some online courses. Surprisingly, I there’s tons of FREE online courses for many subjects, you just have to find them. Look it up, I swear by it if you want to gain some professional development skills.
And lastly, what do you think your younger self would say about your accomplishments in college and what has been the most rewarding part?
Dear 22 year old self,
I wouldn’t think all of these events would happen to me. I didn’t expect to end a 2.5 year relationship. I didn’t expect to leave my comfort zone. Never at any moment did I think things were going to go wrong for me. I shouldn’t stop here, I know there’s more to college and life and experiences than this. I hope you graduate within five years. I hope you find a group of friends, maybe in your major, to call family and grow personally and professionally with. I know things have been tough in the past and you’ve overcome a lot, so don’t stop fighting. Learn more about who you are and what you want. Be kind to people, but also be kind to yourself. Stop beating yourself up if things go wrong when its not your fault. I want to see you walk across that stage with your chin held high and looking at mom with a proud look on her face. Don’t be scared of failure, learn from it and be better than you were yesterday.
Love always,
your 20 year old self
Oh and one last fun one, any awesome bucket list things like running a 5k or bungee jumping that you’ve done?
– Ive participated in 3 5k runs in San Francisco over the past 2.5 years
– I went to a Travis Mills concert by myself
– I was invited as VIP to College Fashion Week hosted by Her Campus
– I agreed last minute to see Muse at Oracle Area
– Saw Phantom of the Opera at the Orpheum Theater
– Went to my first @flaskmob event (Follow them on Instagram!)
– Celebrated the centennial anniversary of The National Park Service by participating in a human banner at Crissy Field (Look it up!)
Overall, its been a crazy ride these past few years and there’s much more to come