Communities: Giving Back

By Lauren
So far, in my internship as a camp counselor at Bryant Community Center everything has been going absolutely amazing, the kids are great and I hope they are enjoying themselves throughout the day because I know we are :). Recently Atiya and I are putting together a field trip for the kids to go to the Hands On Museum. I hope this trip will be highly educational for them as well as ensuring them a good time. I used to go to that Museum a ton when I was their age, it was my absolute favorite trip we would take in summer camp.


A couple days ago 826 came and had a routine session with us. One of our tasks was to come up with a short but informative paragraph on what we do during the days we're at our home base (Stone) as well as what we do at our sites (community center work). While we were writing, a lot of questions arose, such as "do you think what we do is important/why do you think our volunteering is important?" I most definitely believe that being a volunteer camp counselor at any community center is important because it gives us an inside look at our community as well as other communities we don't see often. In my community (Bryant) there are tons and tons of kids with less advantages than I. It saddens me to see them struggle but when they enter the center its as if none of that matters anymore, whether its from creating a mask or playing capture the flag they always have a smile on their face and for me its an honor and a privilege to have something to do with that. Not only are we helping the kids in the community, we are setting good examples for the future generations. I know for me volunteering always seemed like a chore, something that could never be interesting or to become a benefit to me; this experience has completely changed my perspective on volunteering. Hopefully this chance to be a part of communities will be around for a long while because I believe everyone should have this opportunity to give back and in a nutshell see what the other half lives like.

Qualified for Childcare

By Atiya
During the my ChildCare Internship for the summer I have met a couple people that I've enjoyed being around. Those two people are Mercedes & Sarah. Sarah works for the Landscaping Internship during the morning shift . I was able to meet her before the official start of the internships, and I enjoyed her company a lot. She is very friendly & sophisticated. Those are some of the qualities that I admire the most in any person . She is very comfortable and laid back also and that makes it that much easier to talk to her .

Mercedes works at the camp I am currently taking my internship at, Bryant Community Center . She is a very firm person with the children but she is very easy to get along with. She's down to earth and doesn't deplore saying what's on her mind. Her being the "play no games" person that she is could make her seem mean to others but, I don't think of her that way. Her being firm as she is with the children also gains the respect that I would like to receive from children as well as others .

Some of the qualites that I've listed that I have observed from Sarah & Mercedes are the exact things that I need to acquire to be successful in the Childcare Industry. Some of the skills that I believe that I already possess are being compassionate and attaining good morals and values that I stand behind faithfully. I also think that I am a very social and friendly person, a good listener, and I do my best to give respect and be humble enough to get the respect in return. I have worked with children for many years, being in a home with my grandmother who has owned a daycare (Little Citizens) for about 25 years. I've grown up with children and have also watched them grow which I enjoy seeing happen.

"Knowledge of what is possible is the beginning of Happiness"

By Lauren

It's most definitely been a while since I've posted an entry and for that I am truly sorry. But what I can do is update you guys on what's been happening since July 8th. For starters today we had workshops with Ms. MacDonald (Soft Skills Trainer) and we discussed Interviewing. Some of the topics under Interviewing that we covered were, asking questions, being prepared for possible questions asked, appearance, and speech etiquette. I found this workshop to be extremely helpful because the career fields that I plan on exploring and expanding in probably require a LOT of interviews and evaluations.

Another workshop that we had today was one about the various banks and accounts available and things like that. Basically money management and a Representative from Bank Of Ann Arbor came in as she does once every week and we discuss exactly that. Today we touched on the benefits each of the 17 branches (or at least the most common) and comparing each one and evaluating which bank we would put our money in and why. I found this workshop to be extremely important especially because we'll be getting our pay checks soon and of course we all want to be wise and money savvy about what happens to it. I'm starting to think about Chase bank, but this course opened my mind to the other banks out there that I had no idea would peak my interest as they did.

The most controversial (in my opinion) workshop we've had so far is with a representative talking to us about CPS (Child Protective Services) and (especially when dealing with kids) different scenarios that could happen while being out on the field, for example which situations should we report which ones can take time to seek out instead of taking immediate action. This whole conversation most definitely opened my eyes to a lot, like it exposed me to situations I would have never thought about or had been prepared for.

The last workshop we had was with our team leader's brother (Jarrett Smith), who talked to us about college and what it takes to get in, applications and what needs to be on there (high school test scores, having a wide range in volunteer work, etc.) and financial aid and how easy it is to get and how helpful it is, and of course tuition costs. This conversation was extremely important to me because wanting to go into these fields (cosmetology, musician, and maybe a tattoo artists :)) I most definitely need to go to college or let's say these fields don't necessarily work out I would def want to be able to fall back on my education and hopefully find a good paying job. This workshop was extremely helpful and I cannot wait for what other things these guys have to teach me. Im eager, ready and willing. New York, UCLA and maybe Xavier here I come! :)