BOISE, Idaho — After a successful start and an anonymous donation, Bronco Corps is continuing their program through 2021.
The program ran through Boise State's College of Business and Economics (COBE) links interns to local small businesses and non-profits needing help.
One of those receiving an extra set of hands is The Arc.
“We serve adults with developmental disabilities and we serve one of the most vulnerable groups in the valley and with all the things through COVID and all we have to do as a small business," said Candace Nevarez, The Arc's Human Resources Manager. "And then also making sure we have all the donations to support these individuals; it has definitely been a challenging year.”
Boise State student and human resources intern Chi Nguyen has been helping The Arc through the pandemic's difficulties.
“We are working on a program to promote self-care and healthcare for our employees, so we have been brainstorming a lot on how we execute that," Nguyen said. "I have been looking for resources on how we deliver the message to the employees, a lot to do with employee engagement.”
This experience is allowing her to gain real-world professional experience and is also getting her ready to take her HR certification next year before she graduates.
“My career goal is to be in employee engagement and training and development and obviously the program we are working on right now is about employee engagement," said Nguyen. It's about self-care, about taking care of our employees, and also Candace has given me the opportunity to take on the projects that I want to take on.”
An opportunity that has helped the Arc just as much.
Their employees have been working through the pandemic to continue to provide for people with disabilities in our community.
“Our employees really deserve it and to support them more and that is my goal by the end of this internship is to really give our employees the benefits of the program we are working on now," said Nevarez. "And then it will help our business as well if we are able to pump in some energy to our employees and our employees will feel driven by our mission to keep continuing the great work that they are already doing.”
This opportunity, as well as many others, is made possible by Bronco Corps and the donations they received to be able to pay the interns.
This year, they plan on placing 48 paid interns at local non-profits and small businesses in the Treasure Valley at no cost to them.
They are currently looking for more employers that need help. If you're interested email, cobecareers@boisestate.edu.
