Intern Insights w/ Summer Intern Allie, signing in for her 2nd Blog Post: My first week of work

Hello, my name is Allie, a soon-to-be junior at Milpitas High School and 2024 Summer Intern with Milpitas Unified School District through the City of Milpitas' Milpitas Youth Force. I started this blog, "Intern Insights," to share my experiences while offering a student perspective throughout my internship this Summer!

Hello, again! Allie here to share my insights on my first week working for the Milpitas Unified School District. During my outings around the office to help update our MUSD Staff Directory, I have conversed with a wide range of staff who all have such interesting and delightful stories about their journey to MUSD. One of the stories that stood out to me was the story of Raquel Kusunoki. Before she became Director of Elementary Education, she was a 5th/6th grade teacher at Spangler Elementary School, assistant principal at Burnett, Spangler and Weller Elementary Schools and then principal at Weller Elementary School before being promoted to her current role.

Another interesting fact about Raquel is that her first language is Tagalog, so growing up she felt a bit out of place. However, this experience paved the way for her future career with a main goal of never having another student have to feel the way she did growing up. Raquel, who holds a Masters in Educational Administration from Santa Clara University, is such a kind, bright and cheerful woman that impacted me deeply since I too have English as a Second Language and felt similarly to Raquel growing up. However, attending Rancho Milpitas Middle School and Milpitas High School, staff always made me feel comfortable even when I may have needed an extra second to form my words or figure out the next thing to say on occasion. This really showcases how much emphasis MUSD puts on the Culture of We.

Overall, I had quite the eventful week as a summer intern here at the District Office and can’t wait for the next time I get to check back in and write to you all again. Have a nice weekend everyone!

---