Alyssa Rodriguez

Responsibilities

My responsibilities during my internship were various. My official position was a Student Programs Coordinator Intern, and so I worked a lot with various student programming held by Science Bound. I worked in their office each week, completing various projects like engagement activities or scholar features. One of the most interesting responsibilities I had during this internship was attending the different events. At the events, I was responsible for different tasks depending on the purpose of the event. I would take pictures, facilitate activities or discussions, or help with logistical tasks like leading students and/or families around or cleaning up and tearing down. Overall, I believe I acted as a support role for staff, and through this, I was able to build connections with students and learn more about my field.

Accomplishments

I think my greatest accomplishment during this semester was designing and facilitating an identity activity for our scholars! We were in need of an extra activity for students to participate in during one of our Science Bound Saturdays, and the staff thought it would be meaningful for me to create one. I knew I wanted it to be an activity that would hopefully stick with the students, and be within my realm of interest as well. I decided to adapt the Identity Spectrum Activity, and make it work for students in this program. I presented this activity to the staff, and they loved it. I then facilitated it for a group of 11th graders, and we had discussions that centered around education and diversity. I then did this activity with 1st and 2nd year college students, as well as 12th graders, and each time I felt the conversation was being adapted differently to fit with where those students were at in their lives. It was enlightening to hear these different perspectives and see how the conversations gradually changed. I was really really proud of this activity, and my capacity to get it implemented within this program, as I feel it did ignite meaningful conversations for many scholars.

Learning experience

I learned a lot about myself, personally and professionally. I learned how I work best, and what I need to improve on to become a better employee. I also learned where I want to go in life, and the type of people that I want to have around me. Working with these students and families has made me so driven to continue working in organizations that seek equitable education, and has ignited my passion further for helping diverse communities thrive.

What advice would you give?

You can do anything you want to do! If you don't like one thing, you can change it! If you want to do more than one thing, you can! I never truly believed in 'unlimited possibilities' until my Senior year, but it's definitely real! Anything is possible, even if it doesn't feel like it.