Internship Reflection Paper

Introduction:

Hello, my name is Sarah Greene and I am a Public Health intern at the Georgia College

Women’s Center and LGBTQ+ Programs. The Women’s Center was established 15 years ago in

response to the needs of the women on campus, who sought a space to learn, grow, heal, and

find community. Over the years, we’ve have worked to become to be more intentionally

inclusive by widening our focus areas and the populations we serve. We provide programs and

services around power-based interpersonal violence prevention, LGBTQ+ education and

support, healthy masculinity, and the intersectional needs of people who identify as women.

Our staff includes a director, a program coordinator, graduate assistants, interns, student staff,

and volunteers. Together we strive to uphold our mission: “The Women's Center fosters

community, equity, and empowerment around gender and sexual identities through

exploration, education, support, and leadership development. The Women's Center supports

and affirms every student inclusive of sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and

expression”.

Description of Experiences:

I had several duties as an intern. Throughout the semester, I worked the front desk

three times a week, refilled Menstruation Stations every two weeks, refilled our sexual health

products weekly, attended weekly staff meetings, attended one-on-one meetings with my

supervisor, as well as completed weekly readings and discussions for our internship course

through the center. Additionally, I was a part of three work groups: social media, Sex [Ed] Fest,

and Sexual Assault Awareness Month. As a part of the social media group, my duties included
general content creation and event marketing as needed. I also became the person to go to

when people needed help with graphic design. For Sex [Ed] Fest and Sexual Assault Awareness

Month, the role of the workgroup was to plan programs for the students we serve. My duties in

these workgroups varied depending on the event but included team leader, logistics, and

marketing.

The best part of this internship was being able to impact the students on campus

through the programs I planned. Two events stick out specifically, but for different reasons. The

first was Sex [Ed] Fest. I loved being able to plan an event all by myself while also working with

others to create a week of programs. For my individual event, I was able to create a mini golf

course that taught students about birth control. The feedback I got was great and I was able to

reach a variety of people on campus including faculty, staff, students, and even a family. The

second event was Take Back The Night. This is an event in support of survivors of sexual assault.

We held a march through downtown and ended with a survivor speak out. This event was

incredibly rewarding. A record number of students came in support and many people shared

their stories. I will never forget the feeling of unity and support that I helped create.

The most challenging aspect of this internship was time management. Being a part of

three different workgroups with different timelines was difficult to manage at first. But, I

worked on it by adapting my calendar, finding the work space that best suited me, prioritizing

my responsibilities, and practicing telling people when I can and cannot help. I do not wish I did

more or less of anything. I loved everything I did at my internship and think I had a good

balance of responsibilities.

Perception and Evaluation of the Internship:

 This internship exceeded my expectations. I loved being able to plan programs from

start to finish. Everything had to be approved, but I didn’t realize prior to starting my internship

that all of the program planning was student lead. I was able to improve many skills as well as

learn new ones through this process. In addition, the all of the staff was incredibly supportive

which created a great work environment. I expected this as The Women’s Center strives to

create a welcoming space for everyone.

The Women’s Center, specifically my supervisors, were always open to my ideas and

contributions. I was able to be creative and develop programs that have never been done

before. Our staff is also very intentional in recognizing all of the work we put in as an individual

and group. As I mentioned, everything done in the program planning process has to be

approved, but the system we have works well. We have several computer programs we use for

organization and communication. In addition, the interns meet with both our director and

program coordinator weekly for reading discussions and group check-ins. As a staff, we also all

complete one-on-one meetings with our program coordinator. I have built relations with both

our program coordinator and director and have reached out to them both for personal career

development advice throughout the semester.

I have had a great experience at my internship. The only thing that would’ve improved

my experience would be a quicker approval time on my program planning materials. Our

program coordinator has a lot on her plate, so think to improve this aspect would be to

delegate some of the approvals to the graduate assistant.

Despite of that one aspect, I would highly recommend this internship to all public health

students regardless of their topic of interest. This internship provides students with
opportunities for continued learning, program planning, community outreach, and improved

communication, organization, collaboration, and time management skills. After this internship, I

am definitely considering career in this setting. I have had so much fun planning new and

impactful programs for students and would love to continue to do so.

Internship Preparedness:

I felt very prepared academically for this placement. I felt most prepared for community

outreach/engagement and program planning, which is most of what I did at my internship. I

was least confident in my time management skills, which I work through this semester. The

course I found most helpful include: community health, methods of health promotion, human

sexuality, and women’s health and social issues. Community health taught me about cultural

competency, vulnerable populations, and needs assessments, all of which came into play at my

internship. In methods of health promotion, I learned how to create programs step by step as

well as gained skills in oral and written communication. Human sexuality and women’s health

and social issues both gave me relevant knowledge and history of the populations we serve and

topics we discuss. All of these courses helped me create inclusive and effective programs for

the students on campus.

I think GCSU and the School of Health and Human Performance prepared me well for

real application of public health concepts and future employment. I do think a pre-internship

seminar class would be beneficial. This course could focus on different career paths in the

public health field and career development. These topics were included in my methods of

health promotion course, but I think it could be a course on its own. This would allow students

to be more prepared for the internship and would provide an opportunity to practice career
development skills prior to completing a mock interview and resume review for the internship

course. I also think more public health specific career fair would be beneficial for students.

Internship Performance:

I was able to improve many skills through my internship. Not only did I improve skills

such as communication, organization, and time management, I also improved my graphic

design skills. In addition, I learned how to use the computer programs Microsoft teams, Trello,

and Slack. I have acquired knowledge through The Women’s Center and LGBTQ+ Programs

internship course. Interns complete weekly readings and discussions with our supervisors

surrounding topics of racisms, feminism, intersectionality, power-based interpersonal violence,

the LGBTQ+ community, etc. Through these conversations I gained more cultural competency,

knowledge on the communities I want to serve, inclusive language, and a broader view on the

world.

I am very satisfied with my performance at my internship. I brought new and creative

ideas to the table, supported my coworkers, had a strong work ethic, initiated many tasks, met

all deadlines and was a leader. I consistently produced quality marketing and social media

content all semester, and even became the person to go to with graphic design questions. As

for the programs I helped plan, I initiated many group tasks and volunteered to complete many

logistical tasks. The program I planned individually also went exceptionally well. Everyone who

participated learned something new and gave satisfied reviews. In addition, my event had one

of the highest number of participants this semester. I would rate my overall quality of work a

four out of five. I met expectations and also exceeded expectations in certain responsibilities of

mine, but I think there is always room for improvement. I still need to sharpen my time
management skills. I have improved over the semester, but I think what will help me is

prioritizing my responsibilities even over helping others with their responsibilities. This comes

with setting boundaries which I have worked on but still need practice doing.

Personal/Professional Insights/Benefits:

This internship has greatly impacted my personal and professional goals. Personally, this

internship has pushed me to be more active in social justice and activism and to continue

learning about the things I am passionate about. Professionally, this internship has made me

want to continue down a career path in women’s health, specifically through program planning.

I really have enjoyed my time at The GC Women’s Center and LGBTQ+ Programs and would love

to be a program coordinator at another women’s center. Unfortunately, there are only four

schools in Georgia with a women’s center, so I am also looking at nonprofits working in

women’s health. After this internship, I feel prepared and much more confident entering the

working world. I have gotten to improve many of my skills and have seen the impact of my work

first hand which has validated what I want to do in the future. Personally, this experience has

helped me grow in my confidence and also grow in the way I perceive things. We talked a lot

about identities this semester, and I am now more aware of my own identity and the identities

of others. Through my work this semester, I’ve learned that the work never stops. We still have

to fight for rights of women, the LGBTQ+ community, and people of color. Specifically working

with college students of these identities, it is important to provide an inclusive space to grow

and learn. Not all of these students feel comfortable everywhere on campus, which can impact

their education. Providing this space is just one way of providing equity to these students.