Journal Entry #4

Journal Entry #4
Kierra Cephas
Wilmington University

Journal Entry #4

What a great week at my internship this week! I can honestly say that I gained great
knowledge and skills. It was a very busy week for me and I was able to work about 27 hours. I
can say that I was a bit overloaded with information because this week consisted of introductions
to about 10 staff members so that they could discuss their program(s) with me. I took detailed
notes and had to opportunity to meet with some awesome workers.
One thing I noticed about this organization is that there is not a high turnover rate. Some
of the people I met has been working there between 3-35 years plus! That let me know that this is
a great organization to work for and everyone genuinely appears to love their job and what they
do. I feel a stronger connection between me and my administrator. We have this relationship now
where I am not as nervous and I can relax a little better. A lot of the staff members know me by
name and I am starting to feel as ease.
An introduction to the various departments is what my week consisted of. I sat with each
member for approximately an hour and took a great deal of notes. I also had the opportunity to
sit with the Director of Finance. This was very informational because I actually got to see
financial statements, balance sheets and an entire audit report that is done yearly. Learning about
the financial components of an organization is extremely important and I found that meeting to
be very informational. Not only did that meeting help me with my current class I am taking
(Financial Management in Human Services) but it also gave me insight on how the organization
receives their funding and how its dispersed to the various programs.
The most interesting thing about my internship this week is that I was able to get some
hands-on experience with interviewing. One of the programs at the organization is called the
Summer Youth Employment Programs and this program affords students between the ages of 1318 to apply for this competitive opportunity. The way it works is; there is an open enrollment

Journal Entry #4

period where the students apply through the agency. Every applicant who applies (as long as
their application packet is complete) receives a fair opportunity to receive an interview. I learned
that the program has been tweaked over the years to make the operation smoother and just from
the flow of the interviews on Saturday, I can infer that the changes that were made worked
significantly.
My administrator had asked me what if I had plans for Saturday and fortunately, I was
free. Sandi, who is the program director, seeks volunteers to assist with the interview process and
once she has all her interviewers, she creates a spreadsheet with the times and names of our
interviewees. The interviews were held in 30 minute intervals; so each person had one
interviewee per 30-minutes. We were given a list of questions to ask and a rubric to grade each
interviewee. I absolutely loved this experience and was happy to be a part of it. I interviewed 10
students from all different races, grade levels, backgrounds and age.
Now this is a competitive programs so only 44/90 students are selected to be placed in the
program. If selected, our agency will place these students in some work environment for the
summer and pay them minimum wage. They could be placed in various places such as the Boys
and Girls Club, a local library or a hair salon. During the interview, we ask the students what
their interests are so that we can try to pair them with a job that they are interested in. Many of
my interviewees loved working with children so if selected; they could be placed in a daycare
facility or the Boys and Girls Club. Many of the partners do not mind because it is technically
free labor. This was a great opportunity for me this week and I am grateful that my administrator
and Sandi allowed me to be a part of this process!