Chamber Chat: The best summer job in Vista was right here at home
Through internships, mentorship and scholarships, the Vista Chamber is helping students gain real-world experience, explore career paths and build the skills employers need today
This Friday, students across Vista will clock out of their last shift of the summer.
They worked at botanical gardens and manufacturers, medical offices and marketing firms, city departments and nonprofits. They answered phones, greeted customers, sat in on meetings, and asked a lot of questions. And they got paid to do it.
This is the Velocity Summer Internship Program, and it may be the most quietly important thing the Vista Chamber of Commerce does all year.
Here is how it works. Rising high school seniors who attend a Vista Unified school apply, tell us about their career interests, and interview with local businesses. A real interview, for a real position. Once matched, they work up to 100 hours between mid-June and early August. The chamber covers their wages and handles the administrative load. For the host business, there is no cost. Just a student, a schedule, and a hundred hours of help.
This summer, 87 students were placed with 55 Vista businesses and organizations. Velocity launched in 2022 with a grant from the city of Vista, and over five summers, 316 students have now gone through the program. Today it is funded primarily through a partnership with Vista Unified School District, with additional support from Guajome Park Academy.
That shift is worth noting. It means our schools are investing directly in giving students paid, real-world work experience before they graduate, and that kind of partnership is what allows a program like this to keep growing.
 | A guest post by
|