During the summer of 2015, I interned at Alameda Point Collaborative as an Education Center Intern ans worked with elementary school children.
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Closing Report
I have overcome many challenges and learned new things during my time interning at Alameda Point Collaborative. When I applied I had no idea what to expect, but I ended up working with the elementary school children of Alameda Point Collaborative, I found this internship at a career fair at Encinal. Around a hundred determined high school students were jam packed into a tiny school building. I swam through a sea of sweaty high school students and stumbled on this internship. I am extremely glad that I applied, survived the intimidating interview, and ended up getting the position. I expected the internship to be easier due to the fact that I have worked with children before. It ended up being much harder and tiring then I thought because these children did not always listen, they got into many fights, and working with lots of children at once is hard, but rewarding work.
Every day we would do something fun. I would help the children learn math and how to read, I also supervised and played with them at the park. Sometimes we would go on cool field trips like the As game and the zoo. Everyday was different and fun, but the task was the same-to watch and work with these children.
The initial advice I received from my boss on that first day was to work hard. She then threw me into an overwhelming, unfamiliar situation. Rather than getting explicit directions, she pushed me in the direction of these energetic children, and then told me to figure it out on my own. This situation scared me, and I was nervous about how to handle myself. Eventually, I got the hang of it. I learned how to break up fights, how to get the kids’ attention, how to walk them through following directions. It was not easy, but I persevered and it made me a stronger leader.
Interning at Alameda Point Collaborative was one of the most valuable, challenging, and fun experiences I’ve had. I learned to overcome my own uncertainties while helping these children deal with their own challenges. This experience also opened my eyes to the great need in my community. Alameda Point Collaborative is a supportive housing community that helps families and individuals break the cycle of homelessness and poverty. The kids I encountered had childhoods much different from mine: I grew up with love and support, while these children had no money, and many lived with abuse or little to eat. Their journeys to adulthood will be much different than mine was. I hope I inspired them, because they inspired me with their unforgettable spirit. They were insane, energetic, yet full of love.
I’m energetic too, and an extrovert, and I had a hard time keeping up with these kids. All summer, I felt like a child but I had the responsibilities of an adult. I am proud of my ability to learn from these kids: they had open minds, rather then judging and disregarding everyday wonders. And I am proud of how I figured out a way to use my social skills and energy to teach, support and talk to children.
One of the biggest challenges in the internship was feeling as if it was too hard to actually do a good job or to change my community for the better. By the end of the summer, my relationships with the children – the same kids I had been scared of – showed me the value of persisting. I plan on applying my tenacity, energy and social skills to helping my community in the future.
Every day we would do something fun. I would help the children learn math and how to read, I also supervised and played with them at the park. Sometimes we would go on cool field trips like the As game and the zoo. Everyday was different and fun, but the task was the same-to watch and work with these children.
The initial advice I received from my boss on that first day was to work hard. She then threw me into an overwhelming, unfamiliar situation. Rather than getting explicit directions, she pushed me in the direction of these energetic children, and then told me to figure it out on my own. This situation scared me, and I was nervous about how to handle myself. Eventually, I got the hang of it. I learned how to break up fights, how to get the kids’ attention, how to walk them through following directions. It was not easy, but I persevered and it made me a stronger leader.
Interning at Alameda Point Collaborative was one of the most valuable, challenging, and fun experiences I’ve had. I learned to overcome my own uncertainties while helping these children deal with their own challenges. This experience also opened my eyes to the great need in my community. Alameda Point Collaborative is a supportive housing community that helps families and individuals break the cycle of homelessness and poverty. The kids I encountered had childhoods much different from mine: I grew up with love and support, while these children had no money, and many lived with abuse or little to eat. Their journeys to adulthood will be much different than mine was. I hope I inspired them, because they inspired me with their unforgettable spirit. They were insane, energetic, yet full of love.
I’m energetic too, and an extrovert, and I had a hard time keeping up with these kids. All summer, I felt like a child but I had the responsibilities of an adult. I am proud of my ability to learn from these kids: they had open minds, rather then judging and disregarding everyday wonders. And I am proud of how I figured out a way to use my social skills and energy to teach, support and talk to children.
One of the biggest challenges in the internship was feeling as if it was too hard to actually do a good job or to change my community for the better. By the end of the summer, my relationships with the children – the same kids I had been scared of – showed me the value of persisting. I plan on applying my tenacity, energy and social skills to helping my community in the future.