At Endicott every student is required to complete at least two 120 hour internships and one that is a semester long. Last summer I completed my first 120 hour internship and this winter I completed my second. I must say my views on the world have completely changed.
My first internship was working with a social worker here in Massachusetts. This internship showed me a lot about myself and how I found I didn’t want to work with adults and elders. I had enjoyed the work of a social worker, just not the age group I was with. I would never have known that about myself if I hadn’t done this first internship.
My second internship was working with a school guidance counselor at the elementary level. This I loved. I had always worked with kids in high school as a swim instructor and I realized how much I missed that during my previous internship and during the school year. I love getting to listen to kids and hearing what they find interesting and troubling and helping them through it if possible. I had never seen myself going back to a public school setting, but I think that may be where I belong, which again I wouldn’t have known without completing this internship.
Compared to friends at other colleges who do not have this requirement, it seems that I may be a bit more prepared and secure for my future career. That doesn’t mean without any experience you won’t like your field of choice but knowing that I have tried it and liked it is comforting. I don’t have that stress others do about what I’ll do when I get out of undergrad.
I also feel that my view of the world as a whole has changed. Before my internships, I thought there was now way things like extreme poverty and domestic violence would be so close to my home, but I was very wrong. My second internship was just a few towns over from my hometown, and there were so many issues among other things that I never thought I would see only 15 minutes away. I now see my world in a more diverse and caring way as you never really know what other people can be going through until you see first hand the awful situations people could be dealing with.