INTERN SPOTLIGHT: Sherry, Spin Scooters

Sherry Zhu is a rising sophomore at UC Santa Cruz and has lived in Visitacion Valley her whole life. She is a first-generation American, born to immigrant parents.

Before coming across Opportunities for All, Sherry found it very difficult to find opportunities for her age range and income level. She was excited to hear back from OFA within just days of applying, and spoke on the phone with OFA staff to find an internship that was right for her and was placed at Spin, a dockless electric scooter company, on their policy and counsel team.

What Sherry loves most about Spin is that she feels like an actual employee, not just someone hired to do busy work. “I love the feeling of being able to contribute to a process larger than just me and my team,” she said. She sits in on meetings and calls to understand the work she is doing and to be a part of the action. Nima and Alex, her supervisors, feel that Sherry’s contributions to the team have been invaluable and because of their experience with Sherry they are looking to take on more OFA interns in the future.

The mentorship that Nima and Alex have provided – whether it’s Nima sharing her experiences in law school, or Alex’s work as Government Partnerships Manager – have helped Sherry learn more about what her own career path could look like. Other people around the office are always offering to read over her resume or help her practice for interviews.

Out of all the skills she is learning at the internship — like writing and communications, data analysis, and better organization — Sherry’s biggest takeaway has been understanding how many opportunities there are to make a difference, even in the corporate world. “Before starting at Spin, I was sure I wanted to be a public defender because I felt that was one of the most impactful avenues for change,” she said. But at Spin, she has been working on partnerships with local organizations, like Mission Hiring Hall which works with Spin on local hiring or workshops for residents. Through this internship, she has learned that there are so many ways to make a difference in the community and provide valuable services to San Franciscans in need.