Well, my time at internship is finally coming to a close. I can't say that I am excited to be done, but I am definitely excited to be going back to school and talking with my friends about how their internship went. Hopefully they all went as good as mine!
Signing off for now!
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During this internship, I feel like there is a give-take relationship in the profits gained
throughout these three weeks. I have gained plenty of experience in a therapeutic field, and my employers have gotten work accomplished that would otherwise be shifted to other employees. I feel as if I have accomplished meaningful work at my place of employment, and that this work will be extremely helpful in the long run. However, I also am very thankful to HTH for providing this experience. I have learned a lot taking part in this internship, and have expanded my knowledge of workplaces and how they function differently then schools. There is typically no room for error, and these three weeks have helped me learn that and grown my knowledge as to how these environments differ form one another. As part of our blog, we need to include a "Photo Essay", a showing of our place of work in a few photos. Here is mine!!
In an internship, there is a lot of sticking up for yourself. People aren't going to stick up for you, so you have to do it for yourself. This was a very prominent feature in my internship in particular, because I actually ended up quitting my first internship. In my opinion, my first internship ended up teaching morally wrong principles, most of which were so wrong to me that I just couldn't stand working for ASC anymore. This embodies a lot of self
advocacy, mostly because of obvious reasons, but also because Internship is a pass or fail class, and those who fail it have to take part in summer school. Luckily for me, I was able to get another internship with Jenny Palmiotto at the Family Guidance and Therapy Center, who was willing to take me in for the rest of Internship. Hello everyone!
Part of our internship curriculum involves a project that we are working on at internship, and I am having a fun time with mine! The project that I am working on involves revamping ASC's training modules for new consultants, and I am editing the slideshows that they already have. My end goal is to help lift some of the weight off of my employer's shoulders by embedding audio within the training modules. This is going to be helpful because instead of spending 40 hours going over training modules, we are going to shorten that time down to something more reasonable, like 10 or 20. The audio that is included is so that Dawn or one of her consultants doesn't have to sit down and talk for the whole 40 hours. This is going to be very helpful to them, and I am happy to be a part of it! Signing off for now! What is your job title? Executive Clinical Director
What are your main duties and responsibilities? I am responsible for providing clinical supervision and guidance to my Master’s level staff, who in turn oversee paraprofessionals working directly with young students with autism. I mainly read assessment and progress reports, as well as meet with my administrative staff who update me on day to day issues with the company (schedules, billing, contracts, etc). Why did you choose to work here? I started the company in 1999 with one of my best friends, who I worked with in a previous company. How did you end up doing the job that you do? I worked as a Clinical Supervisor for 8 years in another company, and didn’t like being told what to do, especially how to treat my clients and supervise the staff. So I left and opened up on my own with my business partner. What skills and training are necessary for your position? Knowledge of business operation, and extensive clinical knowledge within the field of psychology, education and developmental disabilities. How did you acquire these skills? Through school? On the job? Both. I have a Bachelors in psychology, a Master’s in Clinical Psychology, and a PhD in Educational Psychology & Instructional Technology. In addition, I did a post-doctoral certificate course in Behavior Analysis, and am a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, as well as a Licensed Clinical Marriage & Family Therapist. Do you consider a career in this area satisfying? In what ways? Very satisfying. I love seeing progress in the behavior and learning of the kids I work with, as well as the fact that I enjoy mentoring my therapy staff in their careers. Is there anything you wish you'd realized about the world of work when you were my age? That school is actually way easier, and more fun, and is time-limited, so enjoy it while you are in it, because work and life is much, much harder than jobs and career! What is a typical work day like? I usually work 25-30 hours in the office, and about 10 to 20 hours from home per week. I work in the office in the morning until about 3pm, and then at home, I continue to check emails, field phone calls, and read reports or do research online in the evenings. How is this organization structured? I am the Executive Clinical Director, and I have two administrative people who report directly to me. I then have 5 Master’s level therapists reporting to me, and I am responsible for a staff of 25 in total. What is the purpose of this organization? The purpose is to provide high quality behavioral therapy to children and teens on the autism spectrum. (see the website for more on our Mission Statement). What does it take to be successful in this organization? Work hard, produce measurable results, and be able tog et along with both clients and co-workers How important is getting along with other people in your career? Very… People need to like, but more importantly, respect you, in order to believe what you are telling them will work. What other personality traits, skills, or knowledge are important here? I think you covered it. Obviously, you must enjoy working and playing with children, and have a desire to interact and change the lives of the kids we work with, for the better, What questions did I not ask yet that I should have? How much money do people in this career make. My answer is that it would vary, from direct therapy staff who are paid hourly and make about $15-$20/hour, to Maser’s Level Supervisors who are on salaries of approximately $50,000-$80,000 annually. Reflection: Hello everybody!! So far, I have had a lot of fun with my internship, and have helped out a lot so far. I can really relate a lot of the work that I am doing to my job, because I have been doing a lot of filming and editing, along with making changes to their website and fixing their training modules. So far, nothing noteworthy has happened so far, besides some progression in the project that we are working on here. The commute is one problem I have, as it's a lengthy hour, and I we have to drop my sis off at HTMNC first, so that makes the drive mind-numbingly boring. Anyways, I hope that everyone enjoys their week, and I will be back on Monday!! Signing off for now! Well, it's my first day at my internship., and I think that I have started out on the right foot (Partly because I bought doughnuts!!). So far, my workplace is a quiet, laid back environment, and I am having a lot of fun! I already have a GIANT list of stuff to do. At least I am not going to be bored! My mentor and I have already talked about recording and editing the training modules I talked about, and I have started researching how I am going to be editing and uploading the modules. Some of my other duties also include picking up the office, working on mapping their clients wit a map of San Diego, revamping their
website, (which can be found below) and linking videos on the training modules. All of my coworkers here are really nice, and if I need help finding something, they have no qualms on helping me out. All of the jobs that I have to do are complicated but fun, and I have a decent time frame to accomplish my goals. As of today, I am excited for the coming month that I will be working here, even though I was a little nervous this morning. All in all, today is giving me a window into the future for the next month, and I am looking forward to it! Signing off for now! Internship Webiste: http://autismconsultants.com Woo-hoo! Internship is right around the corner, and I am pumped! I am doing my internship at Autism Spectrum Consultants, under Dawn Holman, the CEO of the business. So far, my agenda is looking pretty nice. I am going to be recording, editing, and saving training modules for new employees and helping out the secretary. I am super excited to start the creation of the training modules, mostly because I have lots of experience with filming and editing, and I hope that I can get even more experience through this internship. I am nervous about the whole thing in general, as it is technically my first job. Luckily, the excitement outweighs the anxiety! Ready or not, here I come!!
Today was Career Day, a day when all of the juniors at High Tech High go to get a sample of what they will be working on for the next month. It's also a time to get to know your mentor better and to get comfortable with the workplace. I spent Career Day with my place of employment, Autism Spectrum Consultants. I am going to be recording and editing training modules to put into their database, as well as helping them refine their webpage and adding posts on their social media pages. My mentor, Dr. Dawn Holman, and I also discussed helping out her secretary as well, and even potentially working with some of their clients.
I personally had a great day, and I am definitely looking forward to the 15th of May, when I begin my internship. |
Welcome to my Junior Year Internship Blog!During our Junior and Senior years at High Tech High North County, we have the opportunity to take part in an Internship as part of our curriculum. ArchivesCategories |