Hometown: Berkley, MI
Major and class standing: Interdisciplinary Humanities, Senior
Where you interned at: City of East Lansing Elementary Schools
What was your internship title and role/responsibilities?
As a School-age Teacher/Site Leader with the City of East Lansing Elementary Schools, I was responsible for managing an Elementary School’s Before and After School care program along with introducing new technologies to increase the quality of life of parents, staff, and children.
How did you obtain your internship? What resources did you utilize to secure your internship?
I had previously had employment with the City of East Lansing as an assistant at the Donley site. After 2 years of employment in the spring of 2022 I was promoted to be a Site Leader. I was one of the only site leaders not minoring in education or psychology and was promoted due to the fact that I did my best to show up and provide the best care I could while I was at the site.
What did your daily routine include?
My daily routine included managing Staff, managing children, creating engaging activities for the children, assisting with homework, conflict resolution, team building, and cleaning
Your favorite experience from the internship?
My favorite experience from my internship was being able to see the personal growth of the children. It is amazing to see the progress that the children can make both cognitively and socially over the course of a semester. Personally, being able to make an impact on the future generations is priceless.
What was your least favorite part of the internship?
My least favorite part of the internship would have been the limited impact I was able to make on improving technologies.
What skills did you learn and/or build upon during your internship?
Patience and Teamwork.
What did you learn about the industry or your career path as a result of the internship? What are your future plans?
I learned that working for a government-funded city program allows you to do very rewarding work, as the people you are helping are actually members of the community that you work for and live in. However, you compromise the ability to be able to implement new practices as quickly as you can in small more tech-focused environments.
What advice do you have for other students seeking out internship opportunities?
Be open to taking internships that directly do not pertain to what you want to do. My passion up until this year has been in Automotive Technology and had previously interned for American Axle Manufacturing and Methode Electronics. While this internship’s workload was a lot lighter than both American Axle Manufacturing and Methode Electronics, it still provided valuable life lessons and helped me sharpen my career development skills.
