Please Welcome CCDFI’s 2022 ‘B’ BOLD High School Interns: Kimberly Santiago & Samantha Sarmiento
What is the ‘B’ BOLD Internship Program?
This summer, Clearinghouse CDFI (CCDFI) welcomes two (2) high school seniors as our 2022 ‘B’ BOLD interns. The Allen Peters Baldwin ‘B’ BOLD Internship Award Program empowers students from low-income areas and gives them the opportunity to explore what it’s like to work in a professional setting. Each intern will spend 4-5 weeks of their summer working part-time learning real life job skills. This is a paid internship, and upon completion of the program and enrollment in a college, interns will receive a scholarship of $2,000 to pay for college expenses.
 ‘B’ BOLD: Building Bridges through Outreach Leadership Development |
We are excited to introduce Kimberly Santiago and Samantha Sarmiento as our 2022 ‘B’ BOLD High School interns. Read their full interviews below to get to know them! |
Meet ‘B’ BOLD High School Intern: Kimberly Santiago
Kimberly Santiago is a senior at Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach, CA. Her favorite subjects are math and biology. She considers herself more reserved than outgoing, but she enjoys volunteering and being involved in her community. She even dabbles a bit in bouquet making and video editing!
Her friends and family would describe her as a hardworking and dedicated team-player who is always ready to learn something new. Although she loves biology, one of the most challenging things she has gone through was that class during her junior year. Fortunately, her biology teacher helped guide her and taught her how to persevere during tough moments. She is forever grateful for her as she shaped who she is today.
Kimberly plans on attending UCLA this fall after graduating from high school; if not there, then somewhere else nearby like UCI, CSULB, or Chapman University. Once she has graduated college, Kimberly hopes to work as pediatric physical therapist.
“I was encouraged to apply to the ‘B’ Bold internship program by my mentor at OCCHC SteppingUP,” Kimberly said. “I chose to apply for this position because I wanted to learn more about Clearinghouse CDFI and what makes them so successful in community development.”
Kimberly is excited about being able to learn more about Clearinghouse CDFI first-hand. She plans on taking advantage of every opportunity that comes her way during her internship. She feels that she will benefit greatly from this experience by gaining new skills and learning how different departments function within a community development financial institution.
“Being selected for this position is an honor. I am excited for this opportunity because it will allow me to gain useful skills that I can take with me into my future career endeavors.”
Meet ‘B’ BOLD High School Intern: Samantha Sarmiento
Samantha is a senior at Ocean View High School where her favorite subject is English. A resident of Huntington Beach, CA, she considers herself more outgoing than reserved — which adds up when you find out that she is in 10 different extracurricular activities! Her main hobbies include dancing, painting, running, and volunteering.
Samantha describes herself as “determined.” She frequently demonstrates resilience by going above and beyond in everything she does. Even when something does not come naturally to her, she zeroes in on giving her best effort regardless of the task. One thing that does come naturally to Samantha is digital editing. She loves to make video edits of her favorite films and even spends leisure time editing photos. She demonstrates this skill in her role as the Social Media Administrator at The Business Academy at her school.
Samantha hopes to attend Chapman University and earn a degree in Elementary Education. Her mentor in this arena is Miss Tammie from the Oak View Library, whom she also considers a friend. Being a volunteer in Miss Tammie’s Children’s Literacy program has given Samantha a place to channel her inner educator for the last 7 years. Miss Tammie motivates her through her kindness and hard work. Samantha hopes to mirror Miss Tammie’s success when she begins her career in education.
One of the biggest challenges Samantha faced was a struggle with self-confidence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being in quarantine led to her becoming withdrawn. Eventually, Samantha realized she had to start working on overcoming her fears. Once she went back to school, she began to surround herself with others and will even begin hosting school rallies in the fall!
“My OCCHC SteppingUp mentor thought I would be a great addition to the ‘B’ BOLD program at CCDFI. CCDFI’s mission is a reflection of my own values, so I decided it would be a great way to work with people who share my ambitions.” Samantha said of her application decision.
“I would like to thank everyone who has put work into this exciting program. I have never been a part of a more welcoming environment. I am beyond thankful for this opportunity, and I cannot wait to get started!”
