Internship Reflection

Leah Lewis

August 21, 2019

Wilmington University
Introduction

Reflection is a valuable tool in the learning process. It allows the learner to look back on

their experiences working toward a specific goal and to sort through them, evaluating various

aspects of the process which led to the completed goal. Each week for the past fourteen weeks I

have counted down and chipped away at my assignments and hours needed. There are some

weeks especially in July when I also had Jury Duty and was putting in overtime at my job when

it seemed like the internship would never be done. It has been an overwhelming and crazy

summer. There are times when I missed out on events and activities with friends and family

because I needed to stay home to complete homework assignments. Now moving forward having

this process complete, I am at a loss for how I will fill all the many hours each week since I will

no longer have school work.

What are your insights after the experience?

The best advice that I can give someone completing an internship is to try and find an

internship that is for pay. Being paid for the work that you complete during the internship will

take some financial strain off of you. I had to work full time and at my part time job throughout

the duration of the internship. It was a difficult time trying to make sure that I was getting in all

of my hours each week. I also felt like I was being pulled at. I had to rush to the internship and

then keep an eye on the time while I was there so I could rush back to my job. There was no way

financially that I could work less during the internship, bills still had to be paid and money was

needed for daily living.

The internship was a helpful experience for me moving forward into entering the human

services field. Having been an educator for fourteen years, I did not have experience working

with clients in a human services setting. The internship has given me training with intake, data
entry and filing in a human services environment. I was able to gain experience by completing

administrative tasks that are essential in the daily running of a nonprofit organization.

In retrospect, how did it go?

I think the internship went very well. The staff at Goodwill Lower Shore Career

Development Center were friendly and willing to show me how to do something and answer any

questions that I had. I was able to complete many tasks and projects and felt very accomplished

when the internship was complete. I actually had to remind my supervisor that I was done the

120 hours and I wouldn’t be in the following week. The exit interview that was completed was

on my own time and did not count towards the hours.

What did I particularly value and why?

One of the most valuable activities that I was able to take part in was a meeting between

the Goodwill program supervisor, the coordinator or the local Habitat for Humanity and the

Executive Director of the American Jobs Center. They came together to discuss starting a youth

workforce initiative to target at risk youth aged 18-24. The desire is to give the youth job training

and valuable on the job skills while paying them a fair and livable wage so they are a marketable

job searcher at the time they complete the program. They can then easily find a job with the

skills that they have learned from the program. The meeting discussed funding sources for the

program, the basic structure they desired for the program and ways to recruit the youth. The

meeting was the first scheduled towards this project. I found it to be incredibly valuable because

it showed the initiative of human service administrators seeing a need in the community and

coming together in order to brainstorm how to meet the need. To me this is an integral part in the

field that is often overlooked. If there are people falling through the service cracks, new

programs should be implemented in order to meet the identified need.

Is there anything that I would do different before or during a similar event?

If I ever needed to complete another internship, I would try to find one that was for pay

before beginning the internship. This would help to alleviate the financial burden of having to

work full time while simultaneously completing internship hours. This would also allow my

main focus to be on the internship without feeling rushed to be elsewhere or watching the clock.

At the start of the internship I was told that dress was business casual. So during the internship I

wore dress pants a blouse and sweater. For shoes I rotated between solid colored toms, sandals,

and flats. Most days I was the dressiest person in the office, yet on my evaluation I received a 2

for attire. Had I known that my score would be decreased I would have continued to wear

business attire. If I do have another internship, I will wear business clothes the entire time.

What have I learnt?

I have learned a lot about the type of supervisor that I want to be. I have seen that people

need you to be direct with them from time to time because it is easy to misconstrue what is being

said during conversation. As a supervisor it is important to be friendly with the staff but not to be

friends with the staff. I feel like when there is too much comradery that the lines of supervision

can become blurred. My supervisor was really great at showing appreciation to her staff. She

would buy Starbucks, bring in community snacks for the breakroom, and even made dip to snack

on one Friday afternoon to let the staff know that she appreciated the work that they do. I think

that it is important to let me know that you are glad they are choosing to work at the place they

are and that you are grateful to the work they do for the organization.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I am ever so grateful for the lessons that I have learned in the last fourteen

weeks. Even more so, I am glad it is finally over.