Sarah Elm

Responsibilities

As an intern with the school counselor I interacted with the student population daily with many different tasks. At first I simply sat in on the meetings with the students and the school counselor as they worked through whatever struggle they may be dealing with that day, but by the end of it I felt comfortable to do some of that myself. I assisted with Guidance class with 6th grade students daily in which they learned about emotions, careers, and discovering who they were. I also facilitated a leadership group in which students discovered what it meant to be a great leader and what type of leader they were over the course of 6 weeks. I interacted with the at risk students through girls' and boys' small groups in which we met weekly over the course of the semester and they learned vital life skills such as decision-making, confidence building, and relationship building.

Accomplishments

My greatest accomplishment from my experience was my leadership group. The individuals who participated in it really embraced the experience. I felt accomplished in this because I created the activities and curriculum alongside the counselor in which I was working with and cohesively we came up with great learning experiences for the kids. Through this I was also able to create relationships with the students who partook in this small group and that really meant a lot to me.

What advice would you give?

I would advise future students to really research what they would like to do before committing to an internship. There are so many great opportunities out there, but they will not just fall in to your lap. I would also advise students to begin their search early, so they can secure a place and not have to scramble at the last second to figure a position out.