Journal #1- Communities in Schools 1

3/11/2019: 9:00AM-2:00PM
3/12/2019: 7:30AM-5:30PM AND 9PM-10:30PM
3/13/2019: 7:30AM-5:30PM AND 9PM-11:45PM
3/14/2019: 7:30AM-3PM
3/15/2019: 12PM-5PM
Total Number of Hours Worked for the Week: 41.15
Total Hours to Date: 283.15
This week was a really eye opening week for me at my internship. I woke up Monday morning

after going to bed Sunday night feeling really discouraged about my projects; I woke up with the

wonderful news of someone wanting to donate two dresses to me and then also an email from the

Amber Palmer (CIS Coordinator for the Middle School) informing me that the mentorship

program was approved for its two week trial. I was absolutely flabbergasted, the wonderful news

of the mentorship program being approved was totally unexpected. With that also came a

different sense of nervousness because now I was having to take a vision that I had and find the

way to execute it exactly how I envisioned it. I have a really bad habit of getting an idea in my

head and then having to see it through exactly the way that it came to me. So this week consisted

of a lot of office time, and working on introductions, coming up with ice breakers, various lesson

plans and writing prompts. Of course this was something that I was already working on, but

since I was officially given the permission to bring the program to life, I wanted to ensure it was

able to live up to the standards of me, counselors, CIS Coordinators, my university supervisors

and more importantly the young ladies I was trying to reach through this mentorship program. I

changed the curriculums just only 5-7 times before I was even half way ok with the content for

the first session of the Healthy Relationship Series I am presenting to the young ladies. I sent the

first part of the week working to ensure that I covered, double checked and rehearsed my
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PowerPoints and materials for the very first presentation that would be taking place Wednesday.

I have one more ice breaker to add to the curriculum before I send it out to all the counselors,

coordinators and both internship and university supervisors. I am beyond excited for the

opportunity to be able to get into the schools and have the opportunity to work with these young

ladies, I started out wanting to just go into the schools once a week and speak on things like

sexual health and women reproductive health. It has taken me halfway through my internship to

get a two week trial period of HER’d approved so that the high school principle can determine

whether he approves of the curriculum or he wants to go with another curriculum. I feel like

there is a lot riding on the success of these two weeks and just the overall feedback that the

young ladies would give. I want this mentorship program to be more than just a hall pass back to

pass after a good giggle, I want these ladies to actually retain some of the information and want

to get involved with the program upon entering high school.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week consisted of me attending the book fair at

Lakeview Primary, to help with the flow of traffic moving and parent’s confusion low. The book

fair was from 7:30AM – 8:30 AM and there was a different grade every day until all the grades

had a chance to attend with their parents in the mornings. It was refreshing to see the excitement

of the children’s faces coming into the library to purchase their new pens and books, especially

as early in the morning it was.

Thursday after the book fair CIS hosted a small celebration for the AmeriCorp workers we have

servicing Baldwin County in honor of AmeriCorp Week. We had some visitors from the

headquarters come down and personally thank the AmeriCorp workers as well. They all received

2 bouquet of flowers, a certificate of appreciation and a slice of cake. I saw that there was not a

photographer in sight and felt the need to just in and snap a couple of pictures, this week has also
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taught me that I do not have an eye for capturing good moments via camera. It was the thought

that mattered overall in the end.