Choosing an Internship Site

So this is it. The time has finally come to start thinking about an internship site for the second year of our program.

It's especially important to take care when you're choosing where you want to do your internship because it holds a lot more importance than your practicum. Although the hours worked at your internship don't count toward supervision hours for the LPC (license in professional counseling), the internship is viewed more highly by outside organizations and jobs.

The internship is also important because of how much time you'll be spending there. While the practicum is only 8 or 10 hours a week, you will be spending 20 hours a week at your internship. Much more so than your practicum, the internship will be like a part-time job. So make that time count by doing something you're passionate about! If you want to get into school counseling, make sure you get into a school setting. If you're interested in drug and alcohol, make sure you are placed in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation site. My overall goal is to work at a college setting, so I plan to do my best to get placed at a college or university. Remember that the job you want might require you to have some experience in the field, so it's for the best that you choose your internship site based on your future goals.

It might be in your best interest to do some research on your desired job before picking an internship site. The only way I found that college counseling centers require you to have experience working with college students was to search for job postings online and what requirements they had.

All in all, do everything you can to make sure that you get an internship site that you love! And remember that no matter where you're placed, you can always make the most of it. Any new experience is good experience.

Keep the Faith!

I think one very important thing that no one tells you when you enter the counseling field is that it's easy to lose faith: in your field, in your clients, in the world, in yourself. Counselors, by virtue of the personality traits that pushed us to join this field, want to help everyone. And we feel saddened when we are unable to help someone or when others don't share our enthusiasm. But we must always remember to KEEP THE FAITH!

Too often I've heard about counselor's who have been working for several years and who are burned out. They get overwhelmed by the stress. They've seen too much. They've had too many clients who didn't really want to change themselves.

I thought I might have clients like that, but working at Gaudenzia has shown me just how important it is to take hold of the small victories in life and never let go. Maybe one client will never give up her drug of choice, but another will learn her triggers and how to avoid them. Another will be a role model for her community. One might save another's life. It's those things that have to keep you going in the midst of all the bad. You have to focus on those things.

And if you can manage to see a few lights in a field where there is a whole lot of darkness, you'll be making a real difference, not just for your clients, not just for this field, but for the world. Happy counseling :)

Spring Breakers

It's finally spring break! And it's a much-deserved break. This year I'm staying in Philadelphia for spring break, taking advantage of the opportunity to get some more work, practicum, and graduate assistantship hours. Spring break has just started, but I do have some tips for how I think a counseling student can survive their first spring break here:

1. Save money! If you're trying to spend your spring break somewhere warm, make sure to take advantage of Groupon deals and discounts for booking early. It can be difficult to make plans far in advance but it will make all the difference if you start planning for break sometime in the fall.

2. The best way to save money is to stay and get to know Philly. It might seem a bit sad to have to stay here in the cold weather, but there are tons of fun things you can do here, like visiting museums or bars, and there are tons of restaurants I'm sure you will want to try.

3. Find out what other members of the cohort are up to. Try to make plans to travel with them or to hang out here with them in Philly. Spring break is a great time to catch up with friends or to create new connections with other members of your cohort.

4. Go to practicum! Spring break is the perfect time to accumulate some hours and ensure that you reach your goal of 224 hours. You also get the chance to get even more experience working with your clients. Take advantage of it!

5. RELAX! No matter what plans you decide to make, always ensure that you take the time to relax. This is a break after all! Don't strain yourself working at your practicum or trying to fit in as many activities as you can while on vacation. Try to savor the opportunity to hang out without needing to read or write any papers. You deserve it!

The Housing Conundrum

So I think it's important here to discuss something we all have to deal with when we come here to Penn, finding a place to live!

When I first came to Philadelphia to start my program, I struggled to find housing. It's hard because you don't know anyone in the area yet and you don't have much of an opportunity to go looking at apartments (especially if you're from farther away). I got lucky because my mother went to college and law school here and has friends in the area who let us stay with them while we looked at apartments. But what do you do if you don't have that?

One resource I made good use of was the Penn Housing webpages (http://www.upenn.edu/provost/graduate_admissions/moving/housing/) Here I found information about on-campus and off-campus housing, and joining the off-campus search site helped me to find my current roommate. Penn definitely tries to provide as much assistance as possible in the housing search, but you do have to take some initiative in signing up for sites and sending messages to potential roommates.

I think one thing to note is that it IS important to do what you can to come visit and take a look at places here. Even if it's out of your way, it's worth it to make sure you're making the right decision when you sign a lease. I couldn't tell you how many places my roommate and I visited that sounded good but looked terrible when we actually went to visit.

This year, I had a bit more luck in finding a new roommate to share my apartment, since my current roomie's program is only one year and she's leaving once it's over. I used Penn's housing Facebook page, Craigstlist, and Penn's off-campus roommate site to find a new roommate, and in the end found someone through my roommate's recommendation.

All in all, it's not easy to find housing once you get your GSE acceptance letter. But I recommend following these tips:

1. Start early!
2. Use Penn's resources
3. Facebook is your friend
4. Visit before you sign!
5. Don't be too concerned about getting as close to campus as possible (sometimes a place further from campus is the perfect place for you)
6. Love where you live <3