My Practicum

Experience By: Amber Ann Parrish

Chapter 1: Getting Started

Excited to start
Passion to work with youth population
Want to walk away with a positive experience and exposure
to:
Methods in conflict resolution
Delegation
Employee connection

Strengths I am starting with:

Experience working with youth population
Working with children of various age group
Chapter 1: Getting
Started (Cont.)
Never been an administrator
Eager to learn
Want to build lasting relationships
Want to understand the culture of the
club
Chapter 2: Getting Acquainted

Social context:
School aged children ages 5-19
Different socioeconomic backgrounds
Children with special needs
Majority of club members are Hispanic and African
American
Great opportunity for working parents

Benefits of the club:

Members make social connections
Homework assistance
Exposure to outside opportunities
Chapter 3: Ethics
Ethical issues:
Some members are shown favor
Teenagers are catered to
Club places emphasis on culture of inclusion
Does not align with the culture and mission
Chapter 4: SWOT
I expect to grow within the human service field by:
Connecting with other professionals
Participating in existing and new trainings
Paying attention to detail
Identify Strengths:
Communicate with staff and members and get their feedback
Understand what staff values to improve engagement
Chapter 5: Using
Supervision
What I value in a supervisor:
Respect
Transparency
Shared responsibility
Me as a supervisor:
Meet people where they are in their career development
Assist in developing skills
Making realistic expectations
Other thoughts:
There should be a balance in work
Value growth and development of employees
Supervisor take pleasure in grooming an employee into a
leader
Chapter 6: Communication
Experience:
I work as an advisor for a college
I work with students on an individual level
At the Boys and Girls Club of Vineland:
Work with children in group settings
Facilitate group activities
What I think would be a good addition:
Include parents in activities as much as possible
Preference in communicating:
On an individual level
Chapter 7: Cultural Competence
Culture at the Club:
Primarily Hispanic children
Culture of reaching success
Culture of helping each other
Culture of acceptance
Nationality
Personality
Sexual orientation
Culture of inclusion
Chapter 8: Writing and Reporting
Extent of written reports:
Member Tracking System
To keep track of service deliveries
Evaluations
Surveys that capture the experiences of the members

What I did:
Created evaluations
Distribute evaluations to members
Collect data
Input data
Analyze data
Display data in tables and graphs
Chapter 9: Stress
Stress:
Has an effect on your health
Can lead to illnesses
Is sometimes unavoidable
What we should know:
Good methods to deal with stress
Not taking on too much responsibilities
Leave work at work and enjoy family
Stress can be self-inflected
Chapter 10: Ending My Internship

Rewarding Experience
Had the opportunity of working with the population I am passionate about
Facilitated activities
Collected member evaluation surveys
Identified challenges I may face when I am in a leadership position
What I would have liked:
To be a part of the grant renewal process
See what is required
See how it is prepared
See what documents are needed
Further growth
Identify a mentor
Participate in available trainings
Chapter 11: Career Planning
In a year:
I plan on volunteering to gain more experience in a marketing
department
Working in a marketing department

In 5 years:
I plan on being the director of marketing for my husbands transitional
houses for youths who outgrow the foster care system

In between:
I will utilize social network sites and other professional platforms to
meet other professionals
 References
Myers Kiser, P. (2016). The Human Services Internship: Getting the
Most from Your Experience (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.