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2026 Jack Drago Youth Art Intern Update (Erin O’Brien, Business Program Manager)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
It is recommended that Cultural Arts Commission receive an update on the 2026 Jack Drago Youth Art Intern, Benicio Chavez-Cordell
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BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
In 1999, a scholarship program for graduating South San Francisco Unified School District high school seniors was conceived by the Cultural Arts Commission. Titled the Jack Drago Cultural Arts Commission Youth Art Scholarship, it was named in honor of Jack Drago, former mayor and founder of the Cultural Arts Commission. In 2025, the scholarship program transitioned to the Jack Drago Youth Art Internship, established to provide financial support to a young creative while also enabling the candidate to engage in meaningful, project-based work and develop real-world skills in arts administration, public engagement, and creative programming.
South San Francisco resident and 2026 intern, Benicio Chavez-Cordell is a graduate of South San Francisco High School where he completed rigorous Advanced Placement coursework across multiple disciplines and graduated with honors. His engagement with the arts included participation in the band and drama clubs. His leadership skills were exemplified as vice president of the art club. His personal hobbies include crocheting and environmental advocacy. He participated in travel and cultural exchange to South San Francisco’s Sister City, Kishiwada, Japan through the South San Francisco Rotary Club.
An enthusiastic and congenial individual, Benicio immersed himself fully in the Cultural Arts program. He assisted in all aspects of the July art show including collecting, installing, returning art, and hosting the opening weekend. His practical skills in statistics, government, and the development of a group documentary lent itself to addressing several Public Art related projects during his brief internship. Primarily, Benicio worked on developing a social media campaign highlighting the City’s public art collection, as previously suggested by the Cultural Arts Commission. In conjunction with the recognition of July as national Parks and Recreation month, Benicio released two videos highlighting sculptures at Orange Memorial Park while also tapping into the younger audience of his generation by presenting the sculptures through a trend on posing. These two videos were popular with regular viewers and the Parks and Recreation Department even gained some new followers as a result. Benicio continued developing the social media campaign by creating a library of posts and videos highlighting the City’s public art collection that will be released once a month, for the next seven months. In addition, he was able to catalog the collection’s information on a template available through the Public Art Archive organization, which provides a free online database of public artworks throughout the U.S. and abroad, for future work with the organization.
Benicio’s internship ended August 14, 2026, as he continues his education at Bowdoin College, in Miane. Staff are thankful for the time, energy, and creative detail Benicio brought to the Department, and in particular to the Cultural Arts program. Follow the Parks and Recreation Department’s social media pages to catch the future release of Benicio’s public art highlights.
• Instagram: ssfparksandrec
• Facebook: South San Francisco Parks and Recreation Department
Attachment 1: Jack Drago Youth Art Intern - Benicio Chavez-Cordell