CCE’s Growing Intern and Volunteer Program

Photos: Apr. 29 at Earth Day Event, Valencia Park/Malcolm X Branch Library in San Diego.
Pictured: CCE Intern Panu Narkmanee interviewing Terry Robertson from “We Need to Talk“,
 Interns Claire Li and Ethan Hu who surveyed attendees about e-bikes; 
CCE colleague Karl Aldinger, SIerra Club San Diego Chapter, with his home-built e-bike.

Education and community involvement are crucial parts of what we do at CCE. This includes an increasing emphasis and reliance on a growing Intern and Volunteer Program.  Interns are typically college seniors or graduate students pursuing degrees in areas such as engineering, computer science, public policy, and related.

By working with CCE, interns receive professional guidance to them hone their skills and gain valuable experience and knowledge, especially in areas related to energy and environment.  In return, CCE is able to accomplish vital work that it could not otherwise afford to undertake.

Since early 2020, CCE has been recruiting Interns from area colleges and universities that have included UC San Diego, Cal State San Marcos, Point Loma Nazarene, and other California institutions.  CCE also recruits volunteers through sources that include VolunteerMatch, AARP, and our own website.

At present, CCE has interns and volunteers working carport and EV-related projects, research and outreach for the County-supported hot water heater project, public policy, website development support, and administrative support.

Internship Results

JOBS:  Many CCE interns have leveraged their experience with CCE to find jobs.  

2024 EXPERIENCE REVIEWS:

Ethan Hu:  Dear Susan and Jose,  I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for the recommendation letter you provided for my graduate program applications. Your support and the invaluable experience I gained during my internship at CCE have played a crucial role in my academic and professional development. I am excited to share that I have received multiple offers from prestigious graduate programs. After careful consideration, I have decided to accept the offer from UC Berkeley‘s Master of Analytics program. I am looking forward to this new challenge and am confident that the skills and knowledge I acquired under your mentorship will greatly contribute to my success. Thank you once again for your unwavering support and for the opportunities you provided during my time at CCE. Your guidance has been instrumental in shaping my career path, and I am deeply appreciative.

Andrés Ballesteros Inglés: Thanks to professor Anh-Thu Ngo, Ph.D.‘s mentorship in ENG 100D: Sustainable Development Design, and the incredible opportunity brought to us by Global TIES- University of California, San Diego, I have been able to work alongside Jose Torre-Bueno, Susan Wayo and an amazing group of fellow STEM students, to help Center for Community Energy further develop their V2X project. This project has given me the opportunity to get a taste of what a professional working environment could look like, since I worked with people from different academic backgrounds and areas of expertise, which I consider to be one of the most valuable lessons of my exchange year.

Kevin Peng,  I wanted to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude for supporting me… I have been accepted into UCLA’s MS in Business Analytics program, which is ranked #1 in the country for business analytics!  I cannot thank you enough for your help and belief in me. Working with you was truly a pleasure, and I learned so much during my time at CCE. The experiences and lessons I gained from working with you have undoubtedly prepared me well for this next step in my career.

Here are the bios of some of CCE’s Interns and Volunteers:

Kevin Peake –  Financial Modelling
Kevin Peng – Analyst
Nina Pignatello – Messaging and Outreach
Danny Quang – Data Analyst
Dario Quintana Carbajo  – Engineering
Fred Reed – Engineer Professional and Volunteer
Andrea Salas – Analyst
Aurora Seamanduras – Project Coordination
Borja Serra – Engineering
Tina Sohrabi – Cognitive Science & Design Intern
Sunny Su – Engineering
Arrianna Towner – Marcomm
Selvam Veerappan – Decarbonization Projects
Katelyn Vu – Data Analyst
Sridhar Seshagiri – CCE Academic Advisory Board