Jillian Aja

Agency: One-On-One Partners, Inc.

Term: Spring - 2004

I am currently an intern for a youth mentoring program called One-On-One Partners. The organization matches at-risk youth (junior partners) with caring positive adult mentors (senior partners). The senior and junior partners spend a minimum of three hours a week doing such activities as going to the mall, hiking, homework, movies, or whatever else they would like to do.

As an intern my responsibilities vary. On the days that I am in the office I work with the case managers and help them with tasks that need to be done such as contacting potential senior partners about orientations, sending out information packets, and planning monthly events. I also shadow them when they do school interviews, senior partner interviews, home visits, and 3-6 month partnership evaluations. Just recently, I have been going to schools to interview kids in order to evaluate our program. It was exciting to be able to finally be able to do interviews on my own. I have also been asked to develop a brochure about our program that is geared towards the youth.

Originally when I was thinking about an internship I wanted to intern with a middle school counselor, so I never thought about working with a non-profit. However, after interviewing with the executive director and learning about the program I knew it was where I belonged. The work they do is for such a good cause and I really enjoy meeting the partnerships and seeing how much the kids admire their senior partners.

One of the most important things that I have learned from this internship is what I want to do once I graduate. After graduation I would like to get a job working at a non-profit that works with youth. Eventually I plan on getting my masters degree and hope to one day hope to be a director of a non-profit organization that deals with mentoring youth.

The best experience I have had at One-On-One is the time that I spend with my junior partner. She is 14 years old and I really enjoy hanging out with her. When we hang out we usually go to the mall and window shop, hang out at my apartment and do homework, make cookies, or watch movies. Recently I took her to campus because she had never been there before. We walked around and I showed her the dorms and the union and where I have classes. I really enjoyed talking to her about college, her future plans, and seeing how impressed she was by our campus.

One-One-One is a great place to do an internship. The staff is really friendly and outgoing. If you are looking for a laid back atmosphere, and want to make a difference in the lives of youth, then One-On-One is a great place to intern. You not only get to learn the responsibilities of a case manager, but you also get to be matched up with junior partner and get the chance to build a relationship and have a positive impact in their life.

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