{"id":5312,"date":"2025-08-26T11:15:42","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T18:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/colleges.claremont.edu\/thehive\/?page_id=5312"},"modified":"2025-08-27T12:29:44","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T19:29:44","slug":"elizabeth-ortega-green-jobs-board","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/colleges.claremont.edu\/thehive\/fellowship-programs\/summer-fellowship-program\/summer-internship-grantee-program\/elizabeth-ortega-green-jobs-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Ortega – Green Jobs Board"},"content":{"rendered":"

Designing for Green Careers: My Summer with Green Jobs Board<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n

By Elizabeth Ortega (she\/her), Pomona College ’27<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Like many curious creatives on campus, I naturally found myself at the Hive, the Claremont Colleges\u2019 creativity and collaboration hub. At first, it was an intriguing and conveniently located study space between my classes in Lincoln and Edmunds. Before long, it became a creative home base where I explored ideas, built prototypes, and collaborated across disciplines. Before diving into what I did this summer, I want to provide some background information about myself\u2026 My name is Elizabeth Ortega, and I am a junior at Pomona College majoring in Cognitive Science and Media Studies.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was introduced to Human-Centered Design (HCD) through the Hive\u2019s Intro to Human-Centered Design course, and it fundamentally reshaped how I thought about impact. I have always been driven by a desire to help others. During high school alone, I completed over 1,600 hours of community service across a wide range of causes. But even with that experience, I often found myself asking how I could further contribute meaningfully in spaces where problems felt overwhelming or deeply entrenched. I knew I wanted to make a difference, but I did not yet have a clear direction or means of doing so.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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My HCD course not only gave me tools; it shaped my mindset. It taught me that I didn’t need to have all the answers from the start. Instead, I could enter unfamiliar spaces with empathy, ask better questions, and design solutions <\/span>with<\/span><\/i> communities rather than <\/span>for<\/span><\/i> them. It showed me that impact is not about fixing things alone. It is about co-creating change, staying open to iteration, and committing to thoughtful, intentional design. HCD became the framework I did not know I needed, turning a general passion for service into a creative, strategic way of engaging with the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>After that course, I wanted to go deeper. I enrolled in Design for Environmental Behavior Change, a class taught by Professor Shannon Randolph, which focused on the intersections of environmental psychology, community design, and public systems. The class brought us out into the field, literally. We visited neighborhoods in the city of Pomona, spoke with residents, and examined how environmental barriers and systemic inequities shape people’s everyday experiences, perspectives, and job-seeking process. For me, it was a turning point. I saw reflections of my community back in Oklahoma in the challenges we explored, and that personal connection deepened my commitment to designing with empathy, equity, and intention.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200b\u200bDuring that course, we had a guest speaker, Kristy Drutman, co-founder of <\/span>Green Jobs Board<\/b><\/a> (GJB), whose mission to expand access and equity in the green workforce stuck with me. I did not initially think of myself as someone “in” the green industry, but I resonated with her commitment to inclusion and innovation. After follow-up conversations with both Kristy and Professor Shannon, I found myself applying for a summer internship with GJB. Thanks to the Hive\u2019s Internship Grantee Program, I was able to accept.<\/span><\/p>\n

This summer, I interned at Green Jobs Board, where I supported the creation of career resources designed to make green industries more approachable for people new to the field and for those navigating the process in general. While there are limitations on what I can share due to privacy, I can say that I worked on creating career guides and a quiz that demystifies entry points into sectors like solar, sustainable fashion, and conservation.<\/span><\/p>\n

The work felt like a direct extension of everything I had learned in my classes. I followed the design thinking process from start to finish:<\/span><\/p>\n