Externship Spotlight – Courtney Karkas, City of San Jose

Courtney Karkas is a pre-business student. This winter break, Courtney had an externship with the City of San Jose in San Jose, California. 

How would you rate the overall Eller Externship experience? 10/10 Excellent

Would you recommend this externship to other students? Yes

Please provide a brief description of what you did during your externship: I got to sit in on a board meeting regarding the retirement programs for Police and Fire workers in the City of San Jose. Then I got a tour of city hall and a majority of the departments. I had lunch with two of the top directors where they told me about their past along with their work experiences, and I got to ask them any questions I had. Then I got a more in depth look into the Human Resources department and got the opportunity to network and speak with various people and hear about what they do and ask them questions.

How likely would you be to participate in another externship if made available? 5/5 Very Likely

Why did you want to do this externship? I am minoring in Government and Public Policy so when I saw the opportunity to shadow the city government, this was exactly what I wanted to do.

What did you learn from this externship? I learned that there are thousands of opportunities in working within city government and that there are many different departments to work in as well. Additionally, I got to hear a lot about the differences between working in the public and private sector along with the differences in working in a large city compared to medium-sized cities.

Add any additional comments/feedback: I absolutely loved this and I am so grateful for the opportunity.