So Far at The Bridge...
My experience so far at the Bridge Teen Center has not
been what I expected it to be. I initially thought that I would only be working
with the students and staff during After School hours and on Friday nights. I
go to the Bridge on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. During the days that I
have gotten the opportunity to get to know the students and staff, I have
enjoyed it and I look forward to many more of these moments during the upcoming
weeks. The staff is absolutely amazing and are easy to talk to and get to know.
My supervisor Mandi is someone that I have gotten to know and I have proved
that I care be trusted with big projects. One of the Founders, Priscilla, is
also one of my favorite people. Her presence in the organization is very
positive and she genuinely cares about all of the staff and students on an
individual level.
Mondays
are very weird for me since I am only there for four hours and students do not
come in on that day. During my time there, I work on projects given to me by my
supervisor. This consists of filing paperwork and inputting data. One of the
major projects that I am working on is inputting In Kind donations and filing
them appropriately. On Mondays, if needed, I also help with setting up for
other programs that they have going on. One of the programs that they had going
on this week was their LeadU program. LeadU is a program that is offered to
high school students where the school comes to the Bridge and completes a
program. In the program, students learn how to be leaders and learn skills that
can help them in the future.
Wednesdays
are one of my favorite days that I am able to intern at the Bridge. Typically,
Wednesdays are one of the slower days at the Bridge and only students who are
signed up for programs will come in. This can range from as little as eight
students to as large as about ten to twenty. When I arrive, I am in charge of
setting up for the After School Care programs. I must complete a checklist by
the time students are able to come. By doing this list, I work on my time
management skills and so far I have been doing a great job. Once the students
begin to come, I am assigned to a post that I am in charge of. Yesterday, I was
in charge of observing the Big Room. In this room, there was a strength and
dance program going on. I was asked by the instructor to help with the music. I
also made sure that I encouraged the students who were participating in the
program and assisted when needed. Once the program was over, I was given a
cleanup list for the room and was asked to complete it. As of yesterday, I was
told that I am now in charge of the closing list. This means once all the other
interns and volunteers are gone and the floor lead and I are the only ones
left, I have to run through the entire building and make sure every room is
clean and set up for tomorrow.
Fridays
are a bit more complicated. Fridays is the busiest day of the week for the
Bridge. Typically, there are over one hundred students that attend the Bridge
on a given Friday night. This is because this is the students’ time to hangout
and relax and play games. The Bridge offers a lot of activities for the
students to participate in and connect with others. Also, on Fridays they
normally have a live band that preforms and that draws students in. My schedule
times for this day are one of two. I can either be setting up for the Friday
night events for four hours or complete the list that goes along for that or I
can be supervising a certain area and interacting with the students for three
hours. I am lucky enough that my first day at the Bridge I was given the
opportunity to do both of these things since they were understaffed. I loved
interacting with the students because it reminded me of my former job when I
was an After School Care teacher. I missed building relationships with the
students and getting to know each and every one of them. I am only scheduled to
interact with the students on Fridays twice a month.
I am so glad to hear that you have been enjoying the people that you have been working with. Many times I feel in our field we will come across people we do not necessarily care for and some may be difficult to work with, but they will all teach a lesson. But to be experiences people you enjoy working with in one of the first experiences you have had in this field is wonderful. I hope you continue to grow relationships with them. I hope that as you continue to get to know them you learn very beneficial things from them that will help you grow as a person and as an intern in the psychology field.
ReplyDeleteYou sound like you are being put to good use in your internship. I love how you are assigned to different things, but they still give you the flexibility to do what you want and what you prefer. Something that seems very appealing about your internship for someone like me is the fact that your Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are similar week to week but on every one of those days you are doing something different. I am not a huge fan of the same schedule so having my Monday look different from my Wednesday and my Wednesday look different from Friday is a great thing.
You sound very excited about your time at the Bridge Teen Center and I am very excited that you found something you are enjoying. You seem to be getting assigned to many different tasks all beneficial to the program. I am so happy to hear everything is going well and I hope as you continue interning there you gain beneficial knowledge that will help further your career goals in the psychology field.
It is great to hear about your time spent at your internship site! Being able to experience different aspects of the Bridge Teen Center on certain days gives you a well rounded understanding of the program and what work in the helping field looks like. It is wonderful that you get to experience both interaction with the Bridge teens, but also see the inner workings as well. This will give you a lot of valuable experience and knowledge. This will also keep you interested in your work throughout your internship hours instead of doing the same thing all the time.
ReplyDeleteInteracting with the Bridge students is probably the most exciting aspect of your internship site, and I think its great that you are so positive about your interactions with them. Taking on leadership roles and getting to know the students individually will not only help you grow as a helping professional, but will also help you develop communication skills, professionalism, and openness to connect with new people.
I look forward to hearing more about your experience!