Rachel Gerton

EXPL 390
4/25/18

Final Reflection

One year ago, I was very unaware of the potential impact of the Social Justice

Internship Program at Loyola and the joys and challenges that would stem from

both the internship and the class portions of the program. I applied to the program

in order to challenge myself in a new way and develop in my awareness of social

justice, advocacy, leadership, communication, and professionalism. I was optimistic

about the opportunity to work at Misericordia, in a setting that I could contribute to

and that would provide me with beneficial experience for a future career as a health

care professional. In retrospect, I can positively say the Social Justice Internship

Program provided me with the space and resources to develop an understanding of

leadership, asset-based community development, civic engagement, and personal

development in a challenging and cultivating context, both through the in class

conversation and hands on internship.

The course elements of the program – both class and assignments – helped

me take the time to reflect and encouraged me to apply and connect my internship

experiences to everyday life and my knowledge of the world around me. Through

readings, assignments, and class discussions, I learned about organizational

leadership and the specific role of Misericordia within the Chicago community, as

well as my role as an intern in that space. One of the most effective and enjoyable

(yet difficult) assignments was that of creating an Asset-Based Community

Development map. Although I have previously learned about asset-based

community development and even created a map, it was interesting to really

research specific assets and the possible intersectionalities of these assets in a

community. As discussed in class, an ABCD map cannot be complete or sufficient

until one has established roots, knowledge, and resources in a community, but I

think creating the maps was still an incredibly helpful way to shift my focus from

that of deficits to assets, specifically at Misericordia.

In general, the readings and assignments supplemented my internship

experience and served as resources for learning more about leadership, justice, and

being an advocate. I also learned from the thoughts and experiences of the cohort of

Social Justice Interns. While my role as the Fitness and Aquatics Intern at

Misericordia was very hands-on, many of the other internship positions were

behind the scenes or more administrative. I think it was beneficial to learn about

different ways and types of service in internship positions, as well as simply

listening and learning from diverse life experiences when discussing social justice in

class.

The classroom portion of the Social Justice Internship program also enabled

and required me to think more critically about my internship at Misericordia.

Although my day-to-day tasks at Misericordia were repetitive and focused on direct

service with the residents there, our class conversations, readings, and assignments

encouraged that I look at the functionality of Misericordia as a community, its

structural shortcomings as an institution, and the societal injustices that challenge

its existence. While I have not learned as much as I would like to (yet) about the
policy, law, and governmental funding aspects of rights for those with disabilities, I

was exposed to many of the health and health-care related injustices faced by

people with disabilities.

The internship aspect of the program – my role as the Fitness and Aquatics

Intern at Misericordia – was incredibly rewarding. Not only have I been able to gain

an increased understanding of critical knowledge about inclusive fitness, rights for

those with disabilities, and community development, but also about my own

personal leadership style, competencies, and responsibilities. Although I have

worked with people with disabilities before, being an intern at Misericordia gave me

a new role where I had to be more aware of my inclusivity, boundaries, and

communication with the residents.

At Misericordia, I assisted in running the fitness room, maintained routines

for the residents, encouraged goal setting and achieving, created engaging activities

for non-ambulatory residents, completed workout charts and administrative tasks,

organized volunteers, and completed home exercise program’s with residents in

their respective houses. Although I am looking back nostalgically on the

relationships I have built with the residents and all I have learned from

Misericordia, there were many days that were frustrating, disheartening, or simply

testing of my patience. The uncertain and gossipy nature of the fitness department

was challenging not only because I do not personally function well in those

environments, but also because as an intern, I was somewhat of an in-between –

hearing things from both leadership and other staff, while really just trying to focus

on the residents. Despite these challenges, the work, knowledge and growth that
have come out of eight months at Misericordia has been wonderful. Part of

Misericordia’s mission statement is to “support children and adults with intellectual

and developmental disabilities” through “maximizing independence, self-

determination, interpersonal relationships, and engagement in the community”. As

the Fitness and Aquatics intern, I have learned to embody those same desires of

seeking independence, self-determination, interpersonal relationships, and

engagement in the community to the best of my ability by enabling residents

physically through fitness and encouragement.

At the beginning of the year, I was intimidated by Parker Palmer’s challenge

to be a better student and learner in A New Professional: The Aims of Education

Revisited. I considered not reading it again, but I am very glad I did. Not only is it

rewarding to reflect on how I’ve grown into this role as a better student and learner,

but I also feel more capable of continued growth as a new professional. The idea of A

New Professional is both intimidating and empowering to me in that it requires

accountability. I think that programs like the Social Justice Internship program

encourages these ways of thinking and interacting with the world, but it is not

enough just to do that and be that in one space. Although there are both societal and

personal barriers to me becoming a new professional, I am more confident that it is

important to seek and prioritize this after this internship experience.

Creating, evaluating, revisiting, and reflecting on my learning outcomes has also

been a beneficial part of the Social Justice Internship program in that there are

tangible ways in which I have accomplished them but also continued room for

improvement and the development of further goals. My first learning outcome

focused on the hard skills related to my role as the fitness intern and my goals of

becoming a physical therapist: as a result of interning with the fitness department at

Misericordia, I will gain insight into creating better adaptive fitness routines. I have

been able to independently run the fitness room at Misericordia (a bit out of

necessity because they are understaffed, but still!), completing specific workouts

and Home Exercise Programs with the residents based on their individual needs. My

second learning outcome related to thinking and understanding larger scale

injustices: as a result of my internship, I will be better able to assess community

resources and opportunities for people with disabilities. A final project I am working

on at Misericordia is creating posters to make the fitness room at Misericordia more

accessible while utilizing resources and capabilities already present in the

community (abilities of residents, knowledge of staff, etc.). I have created posters for

each weight machine, with pictures of residents doing the exercise with correct

form and a corresponding description of the how to complete the exercise. I am also

creating posters with some basic sign language, including numbers and frequent

phrases used in the weight room. Our work and conversations in class on Asset-

Based Community Development inspired this project and its construction. My last

learning outcome focuses on personal skills: as a result of interning at Misericordia, I

will develop my communication skills, assertiveness, and independence by working

with both the staff and residents. Looking back and thinking about the last eight

months, I have not only developed relationships with staff, volunteers, and residents

at Misericordia, but have taken initiative both in the fitness room and in

independent projects – and learned to be more comfortable doing so.

 The Social Justice Internship program has also assisted my transition back to

Loyola from being abroad and will (hopefully) assist in the transition from Loyola to

the post-graduate world. Having studied abroad in South Africa last spring, I had

many questions, concerns, and doubts about the world after being so proximate to

intense injustice while living in Cape Town. I was struggling to put my emotions into

constructive action, and could not seem to address the seeming insignificance of

those feelings and experiences. However, the Social Justice Internship gave me the

place and space to reflect on those feelings and experiences, and provided both the

resources and inspiration from others to encourage action not in spite of injustice

but because of it. The Social Justice Internship program has been a constructive and

productive way of learning about injustices on paper, but also working to address

those through physical action in the internship environment. I have learned that this

is an incredibly valuable way of living, and I hope to continue seeking spaces where I

will be pushed to grow and challenged to consider other views but also supported

and fortified by others.

Being a part of the Social Justice Internship program and being placed in the

Moore Fitness and Aquatic Center at Misericordia has been an integral aspect of my

senior year and culminating experience at Loyola. I have been continually

challenged to be a better ally and advocate for marginalized communities,

specifically for people with disabilities. When I first learned of my acceptance into

the Social Justice Internship Program, I was nervous about my integration into a

new community and what the role of an intern might look like. As I reflect now, it is

clear to see the growth that each challenge brought with it. This internship
experience has given me not only the tools to be successful, but also the space to

reflect with others experiencing similar things. I have grown in my familiarity of

inclusive fitness, ability to lead, comfort in communication, independence,

understanding of the impact of policy, and awareness of community resources. As a

second semester senior preparing to graduate and embark on a year of post-

graduate service working with people with disabilities, I am hopeful that these

learning experiences will continue to guide me in pursuing just and constructive

change.