During the 2022 Summer Intersession, senior Emma Karten completed an internship with Child Family Services. Read on to learn about her experience!
If you’re interested in doing your own internship but don’t know where to start, make an appointment with your Career Advisor by going to Handshake.
What was your internship? This summer my internship was at Child Family Services located in New Bedford, Massachusetts
Why were you initially interested in this internship? I was interested in getting a summer internship for a while. It wasn’t until I went to a career fair at the University where I found possible internships for me to apply to. I went over to a couple different tables at the career fair but when I went over to Child & Family I saw they needed summer interns and applied right away.
How did you find your internship? I found this internship through meeting a representative at the Career Fair at Roger Williams University
What did you do as part of your internship? There are many different departments at each of the Child & Family locations and each has a different purpose and goal. The main goal for this agency is to help both the children and parents in certain aspects of their lives. Some departments focus on therapy of different kinds while others are there for support for traumatic experiences. The department that I was an intern for this summer was called the Caring Network. The main purpose of this program was to offer children help in a way that may be different than therapy or just a one on one session with an adult. The Caring network runs group sessions year round for children to come and have a safe space while interacting with other peers who have had similar experiences as them. This program helps children who have witnessed or experienced violence, abuse, assault or neglect in any way that they can. Each week children will have an assigned group time where they can come and we cover a different topic that the children usually need some help in. These groups offer a safe space for children to share their thoughts and feelings without shame and is a space where they can be themselves. Many children are referred to the Caring network program by teachers or parents if they see them struggling with different things. These groups run throughout the school year and also during winter and summer breaks to offer clients help year round.
Has this internship helped you work towards your future career goals? If so, how? In the future my dream job is to work for the FBI as an Intelligence Analyst but this opportunity made me think about how much I love working with children as well. A potential career opportunity for me would be advocacy work in the juvenile justice system and helping children who may have no one in their corner and being a voice for them. I would like to help those kids that may not have fallen down the right path initially but would like a chance to change and do better for themselves.
What was your biggest lesson/takeaway from the internship? My biggest takeaway from this internship is that not every kid who has had a troubled past is able to come back from it and move on quickly. It takes time especially as everyone copes with their trauma differently and all have different experiences.
What advice would you give to someone interested in a similar internship opportunity? If someone were interested in any summer internship opportunity I would tell them to take it and go for it. This opportunity really opened my eyes to what else is out there and changed my perspective on many different things. This is an opportunity that I will never forget and I am very grateful for having it.
