-Give a little background about yourself :
Hi, I'm Kelly and I just graduated May 2014 with a master's degree in Counselor Education from East Carolina University (Go Pirates). I also completed my undergraduate degree in Sociology from ECU.
Originally, I started my undergraduate studies in early education, but
soon decided I wanted to focus more on individual or a small group, which
lead me to sociology. One of my older volleyball teammates (I played on the
volleyball team at ECU) was in the counselor education program also, and
really got me interested in the field. I went straight to graduate school after
graduating from undergrad, and I have absolutely LOVED the program and am so in
love with counseling!
-How did you manage graduate school and internship, without feeling completely overwhelmed?
Throughout the year, my supervisor was great about allowing
me to set my own schedule or change days that I came to my internship site if
there were grad school assignments that I really needed to work on. Setting a
schedule was really nice for me in order to stick to days where I focused
mostly on my internship, and others when I focused mainly on schoolwork.
However, I know that many sites which my classmates were in, set a schedule for
them to come to their sites. Many of my friends handled both their internship
and schoolwork by dedicating certain days to their schoolwork similarly to me
being able to create my own schedule. There were times when it was overwhelming
to juggle both my internship and finishing my graduate school program, but the
more I stuck to a set schedule and completed things weekly in a set manner, the
more in control I felt and got through the semesters with ease!
-What's something that you learned about yourself you didn't know from your internship experience?
I was fortunate to complete both semesters of internship at
the same great school, and I think I learned much more about myself being here
all year then having to split semesters! I had no idea that I was going to like
classroom lessons and small group settings as much as I have. I was pretty sure
that individual counseling was my primary focus, so I started off my internship
just wanting to talk to individual students more than leading groups or
classes. However, I learned throughout the year that I am pretty good at
classroom management and leading a group. Although it shocked me some, I have
had so many awesome opportunities to lead by myself that I have become much
more comfortable!
-What did you enjoy about your internship?
Joyner has been such an amazing school for my internship experience! I have truly felt
so welcomed, and have enjoyed all of the staff appreciation events that we (as
counselors) helped lead and display around the school. The nerves were
definitely large at first, but after being treated like a part of the school,
instead of just an intern, I was really able to excel and find out the type of
school counselor I will be, and what I enjoy most/least about the position!
-What advice would you give to someone about to begin their school counseling internship?
My advice is to keep an open mind and be willing to try
everything…even if it isn’t specific to the counseling position! I attended
many workshops, conferences, and trainings which were offered by the district,
my school, and counseling associations! I truly put the most into my internship
experience to get the same in return and be prepared for my first year as a
school counselor!
Thanks for sharing Kelly! Are there any other tips former interns would like to share?
Thanks for sharing Kelly! Are there any other tips former interns would like to share?
Good Luck!
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Thanks for sharing Kelly! Are there any other tips former or recent interns would like to share?
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