Tuesday, April 27, 2010

I can't believe I have this opportunity at SMC

Hey all,

Where has the time gone? So much has happened since we last connected. I will only review quickly, because I want to get to my real topic.

Global Eyes Study Abroad Photo Contest - lots of amazing photos and I won first place twice!
Dustin and Abby's Show - Their senior seminar concluded with a great play by the 3rd graders
This Eye Blind Concert - awesome
Final Accepted Students Open House!
Burlington Brewery Tour for Erick's Birthday
P-Day
MLK Talent Show
Snow today?

Ok, so what I really want to talk about is the opportunity I'm going to have here at SMC as part of my degree requirements in the psychology program. There are a few options for senior majors: Independent Research for 2 semesters (working closely with a professor on a year of research); Special Topics in Psychology (learning about and doing research on a special topic, guided by a professor who specializes in this topic); and Practicum (a 2 semester internship course done for credit).

I have chosen to take Practicum Internship for my senior requirement. At first I was a little nervous, because it is a big time commitment, with about 8-10 hours outside of class time required. However, it's the best choice for me since my current interest is in Human Services. I really think Practicum will help me decide if Social Work and the like is really what I want to do with my life.

Burlington and the surrounding area is a huge place for human services to thrive, with a large poor, homeless, and mentally ill population, as well as other human services needs. Through Practicum, we are provided with a ton of amazing internship possibilities. Some of these include: residential and school settings within child, youth, and family services; adult behavioral services; DCF; juvenile rehab centers; hopital programs; women helping battered women/women's rape and crisis center; and more! In addition, we have the opportunity to find our own internship site as long as we meet the requirements.

During the meeting today I was amazed at how many people have really gained a lot from their experiences this year, and how many options there are for us. I am also so grateful to SMC for this opportunity, because some of these internships really are too good to be true, often offering jobs to interns during/after the semesters. SMC is one of the only schools on the east coast to offer this full year opportunity to students, so it's definitely going to give me a leg up after graduation. I'm excited to get started but have no idea what to pick yet. We'll just have to wait and see what happens with that.

Peace,
-Christine

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