Internship

Week 1

When I started interning with my school counselor, Ms. Eryn Kjelland, I was really shy. I didn’t really know what school counselors did. I actually thought they just help us with completing high school, I did not know that she did more than helping us with colleges and other things. When I had a meeting with Ms. Eryn, I told her I wanted to major in Psychology because I thought it was interesting and I really want to help other people. When I told her what I wanted to major in, she told me that I could be her intern.

For the first week, I stayed with her during my free periods observing on what she did and I asked a lot of questions about her major in Psychology. She gave me the whole gist on what she does and what classes she had to take to be a school counselor. I really learned a lot. She also told me what to expect for the next following weeks when I am interning for her. She told me that I’ll start doing peer counseling before Winter Break and after, I’ll help her lead a class. I was really excited.

Week 2

Week 2 is when I started doing peer counseling. Peer counseling is where we create an environment where it is okay for a group of students to talk about their feelings and about their lives which is why everything we’ve talked about in peer counseling is confidential. I really loved the idea of peer counseling because all I wanted to do is help other people. I met a group of girls who are really the sweetest girls you would ever meet. Their personalities are really great, down to earth and loving. Our peer counseling group is every Thursday during lunch. For week one of peer counseling, all we did was just introduce ourselves and got to know each other.

Week 3

For Week 3, we continued peer counseling. It was really great and fun, I got to know the girl’s personalities more and what they like and are interested in. I asked them what they wanted to do and they wanted to play board games and other games that makes us know each other better. We played games mostly, but all that matters is that they had fun. Everyone opened up to each other and created an atmosphere where it was just friends hanging out during lunch. After lunch, I was able to stay back and help Ms. Eryn out, I took a career aptitude test because probably a week from now, I will help her lead a class in taking that test. A career aptitude test is to help us determine which major or career we will do in the future, I thought it would really be fun to take this test, so I took it. I learned a lot about different careers and other characteristics that were needed in specific careers.

Week 4

During week 4, we were able to still do peer counseling. It was going really good, I’m really glad the girls really enjoy their time in peer counseling and got to open up to everyone. After peer counseling, Ms, Eryn let me lead a class of freshmen students during their English Class. The students were able to take the career aptitude test and I was able to oversee what they were doing and if they had any questions I had an answer for them. It was really interesting to see that they were interested in taking these tests. Everything went according to plan and nothing really went wrong.

Week 5

During week 6, it was our last week in peer counseling which was quite sad and the girls were also sad too. They also wanted to extend our time in peer counseling because it shows that they really enjoyed their time in peer counseling, which made me really happy. I’m really glad that I met these girls. I’m really glad that we create a bond between all of us and it is really showing outside of peer counseling.

During this week, Ms.Eryn and I talked about planning college tours for the students of the class that she started which is called Life 101. Life 101 is where students of any grade level of highschool learn things we need to know when we go to college and just life tips (financial, college tips, etc.) I really learned a lot in that class and it was really interesting.

Closing Report

This whole experience was definitely the highlight of my senior year, I am really grateful for this experience because I met really great people and had a wonderful experience. It made me want to know more about counseling and more interested in this major. Who knows, probably I will take this major in college or maybe not, I am not so sure yet.

Peer counseling made me appreciate everyone around me and helped me be more open about different things. During the two years I’ve been here in ACLC, I was really a shy person because I moved from Guam to California during my junior year. I know what it is like to be quiet, shy and just closed to only yourself, but I am glad I really opened up to different things and different people. This made me appreciate those who I have around me.

Overall, this experience was really fun and at the same time, I learned a lot. I am really grateful for this opportunity that was given to me. Hopefully after my life in high school, I will put the things I’ve learned into practice and will probably learn more about this career.