Katie – Reflecting on the summer

This summer has been full of learning and new experiences. I can’t believe how hands-on experience makes everything learned in the classroom come to life! The most rewarding part of my internship is watching my patients achieve their goals. Many of them come into the rehab center at a much more dependent level then their prior level of function. It is amazing to see my patients making gains everyday and knowing that I am part of the reason they get to return home safely with their family. I also love to be able to form connections with them and get to be apart of their everyday life while they’re in rehab. It is definitely a challenge when there are certain patients that don’t have the opportunity to make a complete recovery; Whether that be a person who has had a stroke and now has an inability to talk or a patient with aggressively progressing MS. Its hard to know that no matter how creative an intervention I design to uniquely benefit that person, that they will never get to be as independent as they were before the diagnosis. The story that really sticks with me the most is of one MS patient, John. John was bed bound due to his disease and was only in his mid-fifties. John’s wife was taking care of him at home until she became terminally ill with cancer. She died a few months after being diagnosed; leaving behind their special needs 30-year-old daughter that John was unable to care for by himself. The first time I met him my heart broke for his situation. I am sure this never how he envisioned his life would go. It inspires me everyday that despite the challenges life has thrown at him he is still able to go on with life and find the positive side of situations.

Katie Leithauser
Occupational Therapy

Kylie – Reflecting on the summer

There were so many amazing aspects of my internship that it is truly difficult to pick just one of them as the most rewarding. After some thought, though, I would say that my favorite part was being able to interact with so many clients and learning their stories and struggles. When I had first decided to become a lawyer, a lot of my family and friends were concerned, worrying that I would eventually grow tired of such a “boring” and stressful job. While these comments did not deter me, this summer has given me the confidence to shut down these misconceptions about this line of work. I won’t lie and say that this summer wasn’t stressful or challenging because it definitely was! For the first time in my life, I was in an office situation working with a very busy and focused lawyer who didn’t always have the time to let me know what she needed from me. For me, this was very challenging because I didn’t have the experience to know how to assist her without guidance and so there was a bit of an awkward adjustment period while I tried to become more accustomed to the law office’s needs and the constructive criticism I received from my colleagues. While it was incredibly challenging, the takeaway was definitely worth it. I read several hundreds of case files during my internship and every single one was unique: each document and photo inside was its own special piece that only fit into that person’s puzzle. I really feel lucky to have had this experience; I learned that the best feeling in the world is to see relief wash over a client’s face as they learn that they are no longer going to be deported or that they have been approved for asylum or a green card. I can’t wait to devote the rest of my life to helping immigrants and this internship has only helped me to fully realize that this is what I am meant to do with my life.

Kylie Mignat
International Studies

Matthew – Reflecting on the summer

The most rewarding part of my internship at the Friendship House was definitely the children. Working with them, creating those relationships was an incredible journey that I will take with me through my future career. Watching some of the kids seriously progress, grow, and mature through the work of the Friendship House was inspiring and wonderful. I was truly blessed to be a part of the team at the Friendship House who could help those kids get the help they needed. My internship was extremely rewarding because it taught me the importance of compassion and understanding. Working with kids who have been traumatized is difficult to say the least. However, it was rewarding to develop the skills necessary to work with such a group of bright young children.

Working at the Friendship House had its challenges as well. As wonderful as the children were, working with the parents or family members was usually stressful. Sometimes parents get overwhelmed and stressed and then take it out on the staff members at the Friendship House. Occasionally parents can be stubborn or aggressive. It’s very hard trying to schedule a child to see a psychiatrist when the parent is furious about something and is yelling and being stubborn. Although not all parents were hard to work with, most parents could be challenging to say the least. However, I worked hard to overcome this challenge and be patient with parents who were being difficult. I kept an open mind and understood that those parents definitely had a lot on their plate. Through everything, the Friendship House taught me a lot about compassion, patience, and understanding, providing me with an incredible experience, one I would do again in a heartbeat.

Matthew Busch
Neuroscience

Emily – Reflecting on the summer

First off I would like to say that I had the best Internship ever this summer, and it’s all thanks to The Royal Experience Internship Program! There were so many rewarding parts of my internship that it’s hard to narrow it down to one, but if I had to choose I would say the most rewarding part about interning at WHHI-TV was the opportunity’s I was given while there. I was able to do a live stand up report, guest host on their TV shows, contribute to their social media pages, and be able to stand in and help out with so many of there programs. Interning at WHHI-TV truly made me feel as though this was absolutely the career path that I wish to continue on, and I feel as though my time at The University of Scranton has prepared me greatly for my future career aspirations. The greatest challenge I found while interning at WHHI-TV was actually the amount of responsibility I was given. My first few days while at this internship I definitely was second guessing myself a lot, and didn’t want to mess up. I found it challenging to trust that I was doing the right thing, but by the end of the experience I felt so confident in myself. For example one of my first days I was at a video shoot and they had me focusing the camera, I was so nervous that I was going to mess it up and the whole video would turn out blurry, but by the end of the summer I could focus a camera quickly and with no problem! Overall I’m so happy with how my internship turned out, and I feel as though I truly gained real world experience.

Alyssa – Onondaga County Health Department

During my time as an intern at the Onondaga County Health Department Bureau of Disease Control, I hope to learn more about public health. I believe that public health is an important part of the health care system that is often over looked by other medical specialties. I want to learn more about the tracking and treating of diseases such as E. coli, Zika and Tuberculosis because each disease is distinct and pose a variety of threats to communities. I also want to learn about how public health and education work together in order to best serve the committee dealing with the disease.
I hope to become a medical doctor in the future and I believe that this internship will help me have a unique perspective on health care. The knowledge from the internship will allow me to understand the complex relationship between health care and government which are often overlooked by healthcare professionals who work in large hospitals. I also believe that the knowledge of the specific diseases and how they are treated will be valuable I as learn about the many obscure diseases that I might encounter in my career.
Alyssa
Biology

Megan – Democratic National Committee

The first thing I had noticed when I stepped into the Democratic National Committee was that it never sleeps. As I overheard someone say while waiting for orientation to start, “…There’s only 62 days until the convention,” and over the past four weeks, it’s been so exciting to play even a small part in getting ready for the convention and general election.

This summer, I’m working at the DNC’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.  as an intern in the research department. My fellow interns and I assist the research staffers, so we have been involved in several long-term projects. Our usual duties include transcription, data entry, some archival work, and sampling every food truck that parks near the Capitol South metro stop. We have had the opportunity to attend some events as well.

I knew political research was essential for a campaign, but I did not know how in-depth the research was until I became a part of it. Whenever I saw an article or political ad, I rarely thought about how exactly that information was gathered, but now I appreciate the fact that it might have taken a researcher or team hours of sifting through obscure material to find it. Also, the DNC’s research is mostly opposition research. As an individual, I believe getting to know the opposition is just as important as being well versed in your own side when deciding for whom to vote, even if it is an easy choice. As an organization, the DNC’s goal is clearly for their party’s candidate to be elected president, and opposition research is an important part of that process.

I think that this internship will influence my career path in several ways. Political research is so important, so whether I work for a non-profit, a political consulting firm, or a campaign (or, most likely, all three at different points in my career), it will likely involve research. Besides the work itself though, the DNC is just an incredible work environment. This intern class has only been here for four weeks, but already we have gotten immersed in projects, attended events and seen major political figures speak, worked closely with our supervisors, and learned about the other departments’ work through talks given by other senior staffers. The work itself has been interesting, but in this field in particular, it is so important to make connections and learn from others’ experiences. I certainly have plenty of opportunities to do that, and I can’t wait to see what the next two months will bring.

Megan Bershefsky
International Studies

Margaret B. – Pivot Physical Therapy

My internship involves shadowing a physical therapist and helping around the clinic. As it is an out patient clinic I will have the chance to observe a variety of injuries and demographics, from children to student athletes to the elderly. I hope to learn how the special tests and treatment modalities I learned in class are applied to different patients. By observing intake appointments I hope to learn about the complexity of certain injuries and what therapists look for when presented with a complex patient. Also, by working at the same clinic for the majority of the summer I will observe how the therapists progress patients during their rehabilitation.

This internship will help me understand not only what a physical therapist does, but what a day in their life is like. There is a lot of paperwork and time spent scheduling patients to make sure they can get to their appointments. Another thing I am learning beyond the book knowledge is how to motivate different patients. This is hugely important as it is not something that can be taught in a classroom but is vital to providing care to patients. It is also interesting to interact with a third year physical therapy student, an athletic trainer, a physical therapy assistant, and two different physical therapists. These interactions allow me to see how each different professional works to provide care, which I want to be in the future, and what I should do to get there.

Margaret Blount
Exercise Science

Margaret D. – The University of Scranton

Margaret Dodgson, molecular biology research assistant, checking in from the University of Scranton. As a novice researcher, I am still developing lab techniques, abilities in experimental designing, and a knowledge base for my subject material. During my research internship, I hope not only to learn more about research skills, but also learn more about myself. I am excited to be able to explore topics that interest me. This internship is more than identifying the sex and parasite load from the blood samples of birds. This internship is an amazing opportunity to develop skills that I can transfer to other research labs in my future career. The techniques I have learned, and will continue to learn, can be applied to any laboratory setting. I have also learned how to work collaboratively with others, manage time, trouble shoot, problem solve, and think creatively.

I hope to pursue a career in the medical field. I believe that research is an integral part of practicing medicine.  Research can help combat chronic and new illnesses. I particularly believe that the field of molecular biology and genetics will be a central part of the future of healthcare. Many diseases may be able to be treated with gene therapy. My research may involve birds, but the techniques in decoding the birds’ genetic makeup can be applied to a humans as well. Scientific research is tedious and challenging, but it is worth it.

Margaret Dodgson
Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology

Marissa – Good Grief

My internship has only just begun and I am excited to be a part of such an amazing organization. In just a few short weeks I have learned so much about grief that I did not know before. This experience will help me begin to evaluate my career goals, as I start to see what I like or dislike about working in a grief support setting. As a facilitator for grief support groups I will provide an opportunity for families to communicate, and I will be a listener for anyone that needs someone to talk to. A death in the family can completely change someone’s life, and although there is nothing I can do to make their loved one return I hope I can make it an easier adjustment by being there for support. I hope I will learn how to appropriately approach conversations about death, because it is often a sensitive topic for many people. This summer is the first time I will take on a clinical role, and it is just the beginning of my career exploration. As a psychologist, I will communicate with people every day who are struggling to cope in their daily lives. Helping people cope with grief is just one area within the field of mental health, and it is something I could envision myself doing in the future. There are many opportunities ahead and so far I think I am on a good track to discovering the right fit for me!

Marissa DeStefano
Psychology