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Icyf < Service_learning < Students < Internship < Meet_the_interns < Intern_stories <  

Intern Stories

Christi Ellingson

Agency: Our Family Services

Term: Summer - 2003
I have been serving as an intern at OUR TOWN Family Center for the summer of 2003. My main responsibilities include assisting Family Builders Assessment Workers in managing CPS reports. I go out and meet with families, inform them of the allegations in the CPS report, and then help to stabilize the home and work with the family to figure out what triggers the abuse and what can be done to prevent it. I’m held responsible for managing the records, translating for Hispanic families, writing up the assessment, and attending all CPS meetings. I also work in mediation. In mediation, my main job is to go out to the local schools and teach kids about domestic violence, conflict resolution, and anger management.

OUR TOWN is a community-based, non-profit organization founded in 1979 to meet the changing needs of children, youth and families. OUR TOWN’s comprehensive programs serve a large variety of people in the Tucson area. The most common age group that receive services from OUR TOWN is between the ages of 25-59. Children comprise the second most served group. I’ve been able to work in a variety of programs including Crisis Intervention, Mediation, Family Builders, and a little bit of Child and Family Counseling.

I decided to do the internship because I wanted experience in social work and counseling. I believed that if I was going to continue my education in Family Studies, that it would be wise to have some experience. Counseling has always intrigued me, but prior to the internship, I had no experience in it. Attaining some experience made it possible for me to confirm or re-direct my career interests, and to adapt and hone my skills in this area. I wanted to acquire training in crisis intervention, counseling and social work in general, without having a career commitment involved. Participating in the internship allowed me to experience the work and yet still have the freedom to try new things and change between programs.

Currently, I am a junior at the University of Arizona. I intend to graduate with a degree in Family Studies & Human Development, as well as a degree in Spanish. I am also taking classes to fulfill the requirements for a counseling minor. After graduating, I hope to pursue a masters in Social Work, or in Counseling. And then the day will come where I will no longer be in school. I cannot be certain of where I will work after school in four years. I love working in the hospital. As much as I am fascinated by medicine, I don’t intend to practice it, yet I would love to be around it. Some hospitals hire social workers to assist families in trauma, to aid in assessing certain cases such as child abuse or runaway kids. Working at OUR TOWN has really stirred a passion within me to work with abused children. I would love to be a trained hospital social worker that specializes in child abuse cases. To work beside the doctor to assess the abuse, and to work with the patient to debrief and offer counseling to them.

I’ve learned multiple lessons while serving at OUR TOWN. My perceptions of social work, of the poor, and of child abusers have changed. I’ve learned a great deal about social work, how agencies are structured, and how this kind of work affects the employees in their lives. I’ve learned a lot about me, about what I love and am passionate about, and what types of work really frustrate me. I was able to step back and search my motives and past experiences to examine why I am drawn to this field. But more than anything, I’ve learned how to maintain a steadfastness and certainty of my faith and commitment to the person of Jesus Christ, regardless of persecution or being faced with really difficult situations. Understanding the pain of others and learning how to be compassionate, and yet not overly emotional and maintain a calm is an invaluable skill that I’ve been able to practice.

 
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