hernandezThe School of Social Sciences has the honor of being represented by not one, but two incredibly accomplished alumni who were chosen to participate in Sacramento’s Capital Fellows Program. Felipe Hernández ’13 (pictured right) and Nicole Hisatomi ’14 (pictured top), are currently in the midst of completing the prestigious program, administered by the Center for California Studies at California State University, Sacramento. Voted among the nation’s top 10 internship programs four times by Vault.com, the program gives participants the opportunity to work for various branches of California’s government for 10 to 11 months as full-time staff members—offering valuable work experience and credits toward graduate programs.

Both Hernández and Hisatomi majored in political science at UCI, with Hernández earning a second degree in music and Hisatomi in public health policy. Their individual strengths and interests played into their placement in the program, which offers positions in four different divisions of the government; either the California State Senate, California State Assembly, California Executive Branch or California Judiciary. Hisatomi, who was heavily invested in campus politics and served as president and lobby core director of ASUCI during her undergraduate career, is a fellow in the Jesse M. Unruh Assembly Fellowship Program, which introduces its participants to public policy formation and the legislative process. Hernández, who founded the nonprofit Mentors Empowering and Nurturing Through Education (M.E.N.T.E) and earned the prestigious Fulbright and Marshall scholarships while at UCI, is a fellow in the California Senate Fellows Program, which aims to expose individuals with diverse backgrounds to work in the state Senate.

Their appointments began in October 2014 and will last through September 2015.