Q: What was the most rewarding work activity you performed this week?
What have you learned about how you handle stressful work situations?
What skills have you acquired at this point that makes you think you will be successful in a
position in this industry?
A: This week, one of the most rewarding activities was the closing ceremony we had at Willard. The whole grade was gathered in the auditorium and we all sat in a circle and reflected on our shared experience. It was really powerful looking around at all the 5th graders and hearing about all the ways we have impacted them. After they left for lunch the Willard Stewards, Michael, Skye, Nico and I sat around in a circle joined by Kim Rivers (5th grade teacher) and Matt Lucey (Willard Principal) to debrief the experience. Everyone shared how thankful they were for the opportunity to teach in 5th grade classrooms. I thanked the current cohort for allowing me to join them. While I have already done this stewardship project, I wanted to do it again in my internship. After the debrief, we walked down to the cafeteria to join the kids and when I walked in, everyone was screaming my name and running up to me to get me to sit with them at their table. It feels really good that I was able to impact these kids lives twice, and that they appreciated all the work I put in.
Luckily my work environment is not stressful. I couldn't have asked for a more laid back internship. The only thing is on Thursdays we go to Willard so we come in early to get to work and finish anything not completed earlier. This week I realized we forgot to print out a bunch of agendas and make large maps of the concord river, so Skye and I were running around trying to finish these things. We found that it is really good to ask for help. Skye finished some of the pages not yet done while Nico read over them and Michael printed them out for us while I made the maps. teamwork is key in the work environment and minimizes the amount of stress.
Talking with Matt Lucey and Kim Rivers, really reinforced the fact that this is what I want to do. They told me that this wouldn't have been possible without us and that we were a key part to the success of this experience. Hearing this from two people I respect so much means the world and it tells me that these amazing teacher know I can do it. If I can do it as an 18 year old, I can for sure do it after college too.