UC Merced Connect: Capital Fellows Program links graduates with rewarding careers

Baltazar Cornejo is poised to become a strong and tireless advocate for the Central Valley, thanks to a fellowship program that provides real-world experience in state government.

Born in Modesto to farmworker parents who had immigrated from Mexico, Cornejo received his bachelor’s degree in political science from UC Merced in 2014. He’s working with the office of state Sen. Anthony Cannella, whose 12th District includes Merced and Modesto.

The 23-year-old Cornejo has the same duties as a legislative aide, meeting with interest groups, drafting communications and ultimately introducing bills to be signed by the governor. Cornejo said he wanted to stay in his community after graduation, and Cannella’s office was his top choice among nearly a dozen positions for which he applied.

“There are a lot of programs, and there’s a good chance you’ll get into one,” Cornejo said. “I applied for many.”

Cornejo found the job by way of the Capital Fellows Program, which gives college graduates the opportunity to get hands-on experience in policymaking through fellowships in the state Senate, Assembly, executive branch or justice system. Former fellows include U.S. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Xavier Becerra and State Controller Betty Yee.

Claire Bunch is coordinator for outreach and special projects for the Capital Fellows Program, which is administered through the Center for California Studies at California State University, Sacramento. She’s seen more than 1,000 fellows come through the program in her 16 years there.

Bunch said the fellowship experience includes seminars and exposure to high-level officials. In many cases, fellows segue into jobs immediately following their fellowship.

“It’s a fun program to work for, to see the opportunities open up,” Bunch said. “I’ve seen some amazing careers launch.”

The experience has been invaluable to Cornejo, who was impressed with Cannella’s position on immigration reform. He says he’d love to stay within the district and work on issues of economic growth while emphasizing culture and art in the Central Valley.

Cornejo said he was lucky to have teachers and mentors who pushed him growing up, and he would like to be a role model for younger students. His fellowship has already made an impact on those around him – especially his family.

“Just me graduating high school was a big thing,” Cornejo said. “(This) is a huge thing for them.”

Children’s opera series returns for sixth year

Thousands of area children are attending performances of “Who Stole B-Flat?” on the UC Merced campus this week as part of an effort to expose Merced County youths to opera and theater.

In addition to the free performances being offered to schools all week, a performance for the community is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday in the Dr. Lakireddy Auditorium. Suggested donations for the public performance are $5 for adults and $3 for children.

This is the sixth year in which a children’s opera is being offered at UC Merced. Previous productions include “Little Red Riding Hood” in 2009 and 2010, “Ugh the Duck” in 2012 and 2013, and “The Sky is Falling and I’m Not Even Kidding” in 2014.

“Who Stole B-Flat?” is written by Nancy Steele Brokaw and uses music by Mozart, Giacomo Puccini and Arthur Sullivan. This week marks the opera’s West Coast premiere, following an initial production in Illinois in the spring.

“I think ‘Who Stole B-Flat?’ brought our most engaged audiences yet,” Brokaw said. “We played to over 8,000 kids, and they were uniformly engaged in the telling of the story and excited to help unravel the mystery. I think most kids like mysteries, and this one is a doozy – with gorgeous music, to boot.”

The project is sponsored by the Merced County Office of Education, Arts UC Merced Presents, the Betty Scalice Foundation and private donations. Jenni Samuelson, a lecturer in UC Merced’s global arts studies program, directs and co-produces the show with UC Merced professor Katherine Steele Brokaw and Arts UC Merced Presents director Gail Benedict. Philip J. Smallwood is the music director.

For information, contact Samuelson at jsamuelson@ucmerced.edu.

This story was originally published May 19, 2015 at 2:08 PM with the headline "UC Merced Connect: Capital Fellows Program links graduates with rewarding careers."