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My senior practicum…

My semester long practicum at Youth Villages was quite an interesting experience. As a Child and Family Studies major, I have always known that there are many things I can do with my degree. The counseling and/or social work field is something that I have always been interested in. Therefore, I chose Youth Villages as the place to do my senior practicum. It was the perfect place to gain experience in the field of counseling and a great place to learn if it was for me or not.

 My time at Youth Villages was good, not great but good. I learned many things while I was there, and was thrilled to be getting the experience that I was getting. Going into the experience, I had lots of ideas and notions on what it was going to be like and what I was going to get to do. I got to do a lot of the things I thought I would get to do, and some things that I did not expect to do.

 As evidenced in my journals, I got to follow a case on a regular basis for over half the time I was at Youth Villages. Following that case was probably the most exciting and educational part of my experience. For that case, I got to attend sessions and offer input, complete documentation, and assist in treatment planning. I thoroughly enjoyed each aspect of working that case with the specialist. I also got to do some other things like attend some meetings at schools and go to court with clients, which was also very educational and I really enjoyed seeing that side of the job. I also completed a great deal of administrative duties including phone calls, sending out fundraising letters, and other general office duties. I was very willing to help, but sometimes I would rather be out on sessions than stuck in the office.

 If I could change some things about my experience, I would like to be able to be at the office more than I was. Being at the office a limited amount of time per week hindered my ability to get involved and follow more cases. I feel that if I were around more I would have established a better relationship with those that I worked with, been able to be in contact with more clients, and would have had more opportunities to learn more things. A majority of the time I felt ostracized from the rest of the Intercept team I was working with because I was not in the office much more than ten hours each week.

  I learned many things in my time at Youth Villages, which was the purpose of the experience. I learned that that type of work is not the most suited for me and that I was wrong in what I wanted to do. I also learned a lot about the field and its purposes and practices, and I feel that while it is not the field for me it is a worthwhile profession. I also greatly improved my written communication skills while there through the very structured documentation I was required to do, and I feel that skill is one that will stick with me and help me in future endeavors. . I have also gotten to see a different side of the greater Jackson area, and have seen the real need for professionals that are willing to help children and families and the need to be more aware of what is actually going on around me. I am glad to be finishing up my college career more confident in what I want to do with my life, and that is because of this experience. I also am sad to leave the people that I have gotten to know through this experience. This is a vast and growing field that is full of and in great need of people who are willing to work hard to help others. It isn’t an easy field or an easy job by any means, but working in this field is a great learning experience and a great way to foster individual growth. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Youth Villages, and I would recommend this experience to anyone who is eager to help others and willing to work hard along the way to see the lives of others improve. Again, I was really glad to have the chance to complete such an experience, and I am glad that it served its purpose in my life of helping me make the decision on which I way to take in my professional journey.

PS: I guess it is a good way I feel this career path is not for me because apparently I am to reserved and not assertive enough to be an effective social worker/counselor… I guess I’ll stick with education now :)

The Finish line is approaching…

It doesn’t seem like it can be possible, my undergraduate college career is quickly coming to an end. Four years has flown by, literally. It seems like just yesterday I was finishing high school and preparing to move to Nashville to go to school. To say that I have made it far from where I was then would be an understatement. First of all, I’m currently in Henderson, which would have been a bit hard for me to believe 4 years ago. Second of all, I’m about to receive a degree in Child and Family Studies (with no real clue about what I’m going to do with it), a far cry from the double major in Accounting and Secondary Education I was set on when I left Munford High School. And finally, I have become a far better person than I was when I left. So many things have changed about me in the last four years, and it is a bittersweet feeling to be graduating and heading home (for good).

So there it is, just a few more i’s to dot and t’s to cross and then I’m done with undergrad. Pray for me as I begin the next phase of my life, and I’ll be sure to pray for you too :)

MAT

I hate the MAT with a passion, and I haven’t even taken the test yet. Seriously, who decides that putting 120 analogies on an hour long test is a good idea? Then they thow in words most people have never even heard of and use it as a gauge to see how well you could do in Graduate School. Dumb. I hate it. This next week is going to make me hate it even more. Pray for me and my patience please.

Done.

Praise God, I am done with my practicum. More later on what I learned during my experience on the in-home counseling side of Youth Villages. But for now, it is just praise to be finished. Too bad everything else I have to do before graduation isn’t finished.

The next 2.5 weeks of my life

Remember that time I had all the time in the world to figure out graduate school and what I’m doing with my life at graduation, You know, when I was gonna go to Europe for a semester and live it up? Yeah, so do I. Too bad that is no longer the case.

So now, I have about umm.. 2 1/2 weeks to do all of the following:

1. Get my application for Graduate School done.  Which includes… recommendation forms sent out and gotten back, finishing filling it out, getting the money to pay the application fee, and turning it in.

2. Finish all my CLEP tests. Fortunately, I just have one left. It is my hardest one, however: American Government. EEK! I also have to go the registrars office at some point to sign for the credit I received for the other two I have taken already.

3. Find out if I am graduating in August. Kind of important I guess. I’m just kind of worried cause I haven’t heard anything back since applying like a month ago!

4. Finish up everything I have to do this semester. Including but not limited to: an interview and reflection paper, a bible class curriculum, a Value’s panel, a Policy meeting summary (actually I need to go to the meeting first), and a reflection paper about my practicum experience. (Fun Stuff right?)

5. The MAT. Possibly the scariest test I’ve ever had to take in my life!! Not only do I have to take it in the next 2 1/2 weeks I have to start studying for it so I can take it  and hopefully get a high enough score to get into graduate school.

And that is all folks. By the end of this list I will be done with undergrad, accepted into graduate school, and on to the next phase of my life. No biggie right? Oh yeah, I also need to find a job.

Productivity

Surprisingly, I was extremely productive tonight. And I didn’t even have my computer with me over in Priv 304!! Hmm… Maybe that was the reason for so much productivity. Anyways, I successfully completed my application for graduate school, dumb personal essay and all (I hate writing about myself and my goals). I also compiled a list of things I have to get done between now and the next couple of weeks so that I can A) Graduate, and B) Get into Graduate School and start this summer. I won’t bore you with the details of that thought… at least not now anyways…

And this is for all of you who found this post to be extremely boring, or for all of you English majors who criticized my overuse of ellipses, parentheses, and run-on/fragmented sentences.

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I am officially welcoming myself to the world of tumblr… no more will I bug people with dumb facebook posts and tweets. It’ll be simple, in one place, and if you don’t want to read it… it won’t be in your face screaming “read me, read me” obnoxiously… and it won’t even have a title :) because well titles are only for things that are finished, and I’m not finished.