Internship 2020

Stephens Center 2020

Part 1

Before starting this internship at the Stephens Center I honestly did not know what to expect. Juggling a full time school schedule, work, and an internship seemed pretty overwhelming at first. But just like with everything else I had to adapt to my new schedule. I consider myself a very understanding and easy to work with type of person so any major changes I was prepared to adapt and learn and reorganize all the different aspects in my life.

During my internship I shadowed some employers and was able to see firsthand the reality of the job of a caseworker. The first visit was calm, but the second one was really heart wrenching. I won’t go into detail for the privacy of that family. I was also able to shadow and observe how to report a case to DCS (Department of Child Services). I believe that having empathy but also respecting the individuals is an important part of this field of work. Assisting with the home visits was definitely out of my comfort zone, but a vital part of this internship. During this time I was also able to use my bilingual skills. I was able to translate documents into Spanish. Although some were already well translated and only needed minor changes. Since this organization is about helping children and preventing child abuse, child abuse prevention month was big on the schedule. Although it’s not until April another intern and I got a head start on the project and completed the posters for the event being held in April. And I also helped with the diaper drive for the mothers to mother’s event that this organization was helping with, and even got my co workers involved.

Overall, through this experience I learned time management, juggling three big responsibilities while getting just over 50 hours for the internship, among other aspects of life was a challenge, and as traveling to other counties. I definitely improved on meeting deadlines; I finished projects given to us 2 to 3 weeks in advance, but most importantly the reward of giving back outweighed all the emotional aspects of this experience.

Final Reflection

Part 2

Before starting this internship I did not know what to expect. But throughout this experience I have gained knowledge of how caseworkers worked. From calling and checking in on clients to an unimaginable load of paper work, this occupation is far from easy. And after interning for caseworkers I would not call it a job but rather a lifestyle. Although our full experience of our internships were cut short due to covid19, I feel as though I have learned and developed skills that will help me in the future, for example, learning the importance of communication.

Many times we are afraid to speak up because we do not want to hurt people’s feelings or feel as if we will be left on bad terms, but from the home visits I had shadowed communication was emphasized in almost all parts of the visit. I witnessed firsthand how open lines of communication can have positive impacts. And how asking questions is ok, sometimes it might not be the answer we want to hear but it will be the answer we need. I also free like I developed my Spanish skills even more. As a fluent Spanish speaker I use my Spanish language on a daily basis. But through this internship I was able to use my bilingual skills in a professional setting. I was nervous at first but translating is something that comes natural to me and I was also able to translate some documents. I also expanded my creativity. Making the posters without a specific layout was kind of intimidating for me because I have always said that I am the least creative person on this planet. But after the other intern and I finished I think that they turned out great. And I also think I have worked on my time management, with juggling school, work, and an internship, I was able to have a set schedule to go by not just during the week but also on the weekends getting myself prepared for the week ahead. Overall, I feel like I’ve gained knowledge and developed skills that one can only achieve from being hands on and present