Internship details and reflection
I performed my internship during the summer of Junior Year with Camp IMUA. This camp is designed for developmentally challenged children with mental and or physical disabilities. The purpose of the summer camp was to provide disabled children with a space to be themselves and engage in fun, exciting activities, over 5 days. As a camp counselor, I worked with many different children and built strong relationships with them. Becoming fully immersed in caring for someone who does not have the same ease in daily activities of living as I do, gave me a valuable perspective.
My internship was rigorous and challenging. Throughout the 5 days, I aided my campers with, getting in and out of clothing, using the restroom, supervising as my campers went on helicopter rides, eating their food, playing during downtime, getting ready for bed, and the trials of the night. In doing these practices, I learned patience. When I was having trouble communicating with non-verbal campers, for example, or trying to get through to some of the more stubborn campers, I learned to take a step back, collect myself, and try a different method of communication. One of the skills that I am most proud of myself for learning, is how to get through to a non-verbal camper. A 7-year-old camper in my group had cerebral palsy and was non-verbal. At the beginning of the week, I had a hard time getting her to interact with me. After a few days of getting to know each other, this camper and I were able to connect over her love of playdough, and her appreciation for being read to when she went to sleep. We had successfully developed a relationship, and from there forward I sensed that she was willing to listen to me and build a further connection. By the end of the internship, my ability to form all these connections, demonstrated my proficiency with certain 21st Century skills.
I feel that during my internship experience, I improved my self-directional skills, my interpersonal skills, and my thinking and problem-solving skills. My self-directional skills were strengthened because I was on my own for the majority of the time spent with my campers. Initially, when starting the internship, I was expecting a lot of help and guidance from professionals to guide us in the process of maintaining the wellness of our campers. However, we were not given such hands-on assistance, we were thrown right into the field and had to figure things out by trial and error, thinking and problem-solving, and self-direction. I am glad that I got to work on these skills because it helped me meet my internship goals.
Last year, I expected my internship to give me real-life experience with what it is like to be an adult. I, I also hoped to learn communication skills and to enjoy my 60 hours. After completing the internship, I realized that I met 2 of my internship goals, but not the rest. Being tasked with the care of a child is a very grown-up thing to handle, I feel that I met my goal of getting real-world experience because I will most likely eventually do work like I did with my camper, with my child. Additionally, communication with campers was achieved, so overall, I met that goal. However, it would be a stretch to say I thoroughly enjoyed my internship. There were many times I felt like giving up, and I was not feeling very supported by my mentor throughout most of the internship. Even though my internship was not everything I expected it to be, I found joy in it and gained valuable takeaways.
As the 5 days went by, I came to the startling conclusion that the camp was very poorly designed and it was failing the needs of the campers, as well as the needs of us counselors. The result of this was a termination of the camp for future years. The campsite, for instance, was not tailored to the needs of people who have disabilities. A huge, dangerous, cliff-filled, forested area, is not the best place to have small children who like to run away. Constantly, we were searching for lost children, and the nurse's office was never unoccupied. A lack of professionals was another flaw in the camp. For example, as members of the community, we counselors did not know how to effectively deal with campers who could not bathe or use the restroom by themselves. Knowledgeable authority figures left our sides the minute we received our campers, and from then on, it was every counselor for themselves. Over 5 days, I did many things I was not comfortable with, so it does not surprise me that over 12 counselors left camp at random points throughout the week in frustration, and fear for their safety. Dealing with these challenges was difficult, however, I am proud of myself for persevering and being able to make an impact on the lives of my campers.
Taking care of someone else is a skill I will utilize after high school because it taught me responsibility and humility. As humans, we naturally focus so much on ourselves, but we sometimes fail to realize the importance of those around us. During this internship, I was fully immersed in the needs of a child, something that taught me skills I will use when I have kids in the future. I gained a lot of perspective through this experience, and I will continue to remember how I stayed strong when it seemed like the odds were stacked against me.
My internship was rigorous and challenging. Throughout the 5 days, I aided my campers with, getting in and out of clothing, using the restroom, supervising as my campers went on helicopter rides, eating their food, playing during downtime, getting ready for bed, and the trials of the night. In doing these practices, I learned patience. When I was having trouble communicating with non-verbal campers, for example, or trying to get through to some of the more stubborn campers, I learned to take a step back, collect myself, and try a different method of communication. One of the skills that I am most proud of myself for learning, is how to get through to a non-verbal camper. A 7-year-old camper in my group had cerebral palsy and was non-verbal. At the beginning of the week, I had a hard time getting her to interact with me. After a few days of getting to know each other, this camper and I were able to connect over her love of playdough, and her appreciation for being read to when she went to sleep. We had successfully developed a relationship, and from there forward I sensed that she was willing to listen to me and build a further connection. By the end of the internship, my ability to form all these connections, demonstrated my proficiency with certain 21st Century skills.
I feel that during my internship experience, I improved my self-directional skills, my interpersonal skills, and my thinking and problem-solving skills. My self-directional skills were strengthened because I was on my own for the majority of the time spent with my campers. Initially, when starting the internship, I was expecting a lot of help and guidance from professionals to guide us in the process of maintaining the wellness of our campers. However, we were not given such hands-on assistance, we were thrown right into the field and had to figure things out by trial and error, thinking and problem-solving, and self-direction. I am glad that I got to work on these skills because it helped me meet my internship goals.
Last year, I expected my internship to give me real-life experience with what it is like to be an adult. I, I also hoped to learn communication skills and to enjoy my 60 hours. After completing the internship, I realized that I met 2 of my internship goals, but not the rest. Being tasked with the care of a child is a very grown-up thing to handle, I feel that I met my goal of getting real-world experience because I will most likely eventually do work like I did with my camper, with my child. Additionally, communication with campers was achieved, so overall, I met that goal. However, it would be a stretch to say I thoroughly enjoyed my internship. There were many times I felt like giving up, and I was not feeling very supported by my mentor throughout most of the internship. Even though my internship was not everything I expected it to be, I found joy in it and gained valuable takeaways.
As the 5 days went by, I came to the startling conclusion that the camp was very poorly designed and it was failing the needs of the campers, as well as the needs of us counselors. The result of this was a termination of the camp for future years. The campsite, for instance, was not tailored to the needs of people who have disabilities. A huge, dangerous, cliff-filled, forested area, is not the best place to have small children who like to run away. Constantly, we were searching for lost children, and the nurse's office was never unoccupied. A lack of professionals was another flaw in the camp. For example, as members of the community, we counselors did not know how to effectively deal with campers who could not bathe or use the restroom by themselves. Knowledgeable authority figures left our sides the minute we received our campers, and from then on, it was every counselor for themselves. Over 5 days, I did many things I was not comfortable with, so it does not surprise me that over 12 counselors left camp at random points throughout the week in frustration, and fear for their safety. Dealing with these challenges was difficult, however, I am proud of myself for persevering and being able to make an impact on the lives of my campers.
Taking care of someone else is a skill I will utilize after high school because it taught me responsibility and humility. As humans, we naturally focus so much on ourselves, but we sometimes fail to realize the importance of those around us. During this internship, I was fully immersed in the needs of a child, something that taught me skills I will use when I have kids in the future. I gained a lot of perspective through this experience, and I will continue to remember how I stayed strong when it seemed like the odds were stacked against me.