Makenzi Kern

Responsibilities

Management and Planning: - Work directly with supervisor on the vision of Youth programming, fiscal management, and leadership opportunities. - Build relationships with staff and parents during programming and planning. - Meet with each department biweekly to find areas of success and areas of struggle. - Review and provide solutions to how we can grow in our membership experience in Youth and Family programming. - Planning Summer Day Camp program. Communication: - Assist Youth and Family leadership team in proper communication with staff and parents within the program. - Keep open lines of communication with members, directors, and supervisors. - Analyze overall data for trends and significance. - Present information orally to large and small groups.

Accomplishments

Being able to plan a program and provide curriculum and activities that are age-appropriate. While being able to plan a program is an accomplishment, being able to plan a program successfully, I would say, is my biggest accomplishment within my internship. Many things go into planning the Summer Day Camp program, and it is a huge accomplishment for me that I was able to complete all of those things successfully.

Learning experience

There are a few lessons that I have learned throughout my internship but having confidence in yourself is one of the biggest. When first starting out, I wasn't sure on what I should be doing or if my ideas were even good, but the more confidence I gained to share my ideas, it turned out there are a lot of things you can learn about yourself skill-wise. I found that I am good at and enjoy program planning which I never knew previously, that I am good at communicating thoughts and Ideas, and that I am able to supervise others successfully.

What advice would you give?

One word of advice I have for future students coming into an internship is to be open to all areas of experience. There were so many things that I needed more knowledge on within our field, and I ensured I put myself out there and asked to be included. If there is something that your supervisor mentions that you have no experience in, ask to be a part of it. You will learn so much more by including yourself in these experiences. Also, there is nothing wrong with asking questions. Your coworkers and supervisors will appreciate your willingness to learn!