Gemma Jimenez
Field Deputy, Calif. State Senator Alex Padilla
“I realized that internships were an opportunity to find out what you wanted to do in your life.”
Gemma says that when growing up she “always wondered what was inside those tall sky scrapers in Downtown L.A. and hoped that one day she would find out.” The opportunity came when she was placed in an internship at Analytic Investors in one of those very office towers.
It was her first opportunity to learn about working in a professional office. “I learned how to dress, how to act, and the importance of working at such a prestigious firm,” says Gemma. The employees talked with her about their chosen careers, giving her the opportunity to think about what she wanted to do in life.
Throughout high school and her college years at UC Davis, she continued to participate in an array of internships until she finally found her “passion and career.” “I interned in the California governor’s office my senior year in college,” remembers Gemma. “This is where I found my passion for public service.”
After her internship, she was offered a job in the governor’s Office of Constituent Affairs. Gemma went on to get a master’s in public administration at California State University, Dominguez Hills. She is now working as a field deputy for California State Senator Alex Padilla.
- Featured Alumni: Stepehn Anderson | Alyse Cato | Fesia Devenport | Dora Duru | Gemma Jimenez | Kristina Levsky | Hon. Jackson Lucky | Asia McLain | Hon. Raquel Márquez-Britsch | Hon. Darrell Mavis | Natalie Robinson | David Rosen | Janet Sevilla
