Community Corp 2026
Ocelotl’s Community Corp Program is independently funded entirely through donations from community members and events and sales through our storefront space at 343 15th Street in downtown Oakland.
The curriculum for this program was designed and in operation well before Ocelotl became a non-profit in 2020. It was formed with the inherent belief that meaningful work can be utilized as a mental health strategy to build self-esteem, efficacy, and a sense of purpose that exponentially benefits the community.
The internships offer 100 hours of work-based learning experience in a supportive environment serving the community at a rate of $20 per hour to earn $2K. The model that supports this paid learning experience is part of the core values that resonate through all of our programming, most well known as the sustainable models of Peer Mentoring, and Language Navigators still in operation at Madison Park Academy 6-12 for a decade now.
This year our interns stepped into their roles after having supported their peers in Oaktown Leaders Pre-Apprenticeship at both Castlemont and MPA. The opportunity you all provided for them to move into the Expanded Learning classes and programming with Koramatsu and Esperanza was a perfect fit for them to increase their own professional development and personal growth as they explored options for their purpose and meaningful work in their future.
One of the most significant program outcomes was the success of Yessenia Ramirez Robles, who will be attending Merritt College in the Fall as a freshman. She now has applied for a position to Fruitvale Elementary to support the Kindergarten classes as a bi-lingual teaching assistant and to continue with OUSD Early Education Apprenticeship Program to complete her 48 UC-CSU transferable units and obtain the Master Teacher permit in Early Childhood Education. Upon completion, she will qualify for full-time teaching roles in preschool classrooms, with ongoing chances for career advancement through additional apprenticeships while pursuing her bachelor's degree.
Highlights also included Ulises Oseguera, Ocelotl/OUSD alum and now SJSU senior, stepping into a new role as the Community Corp Program Supervisor. He worked to coordinate with the school's sites, created schedules, on-boarded and trained the Interns the Ocelotl program model. This also included a weekly meeting, regular communication throughout the week, timesheets and payroll and coordinating weekly community outings. Uli and the interns rolled with needed adjustments and with the support of the BACR team and admin at Korumatsu, interns hit their stride and we rolled smoothly to the end of the summer’s 100 hour internship. Ulises has now jumped into the creation of a workshop for families of incoming 6th grade students at MPA, run entirely by his peers (nine in total) of MPA/Ocelotl program Alum spanning five graduating classes, all now in college pursuing their chosen fields. Stay turned for more on this amazing next endeavor.
“I feel like building connection with these students was part of being able to support them and get them prepared for Kindergarten. I'm really proud of being able to explore my interested when working with youth.”
“An aspect of my support I think had the most meaningful impact on the kids was just being someone they could talk to. I’m most proud of trying something new. I feel like a-year-ago-me wouldn’t have taken up this opportunity.”
“Building positive relationships and providing consistent encouragement helped students feel more confident.”
“I learned that i really really enjoyed working with kids and its something i want to continue exploring.”
“I value showing up for others and I believe in this experience I got to live showing up for others and how to work through that.”
“When I was younger I always struggled talking to adults because they always seemed distant and cold in a way so I tried to show up and be talkative with the kids and try to make them as happy as I could.”
