After working within the education and prevention program at SafeNest, I was not only able to gain real-world experience in a field similar to what I plan on going into within my professional career but also gather valuable information on how severe domestic violence was in my own community. This is why there is such an added need for awareness in order to prevent young people from either becoming abused or abusers themself within their romantic and platonic relationships. Since I am majoring in psychology and plan on pursuing a career in this field, I thought it would be beneficial to work with this nonprofit organization. Since topics like domestic violence, abuse, and trauma are relevant to this field. Being that I was involved in a work-based internship, we spent a lot of time training on how to properly present the information, keep the students engaged, and come up with useful solutions to the problems presented. Although I am not planning on continuing with an education major when I attend grad school, I still found this experience to be enlightening and add to my skillset when it comes to conflict resolution and public speaking among different age groups. One of my fellow interns will actually be staying on after the semester is completed because they want to pursue a career in this field, which shows just how progressive the organization is in helping those involved secure full-time positions. If you plan on interning within the next coming semesters, my best piece of advice would be to always have clear communication with your supervisors. Having a stable relationship and setting clear boundaries on what you expect to accomplish will make it easier to complete the desired goals of this experience. I included a photo taken at one of the schools SafeNest regularly visits to educate the students about domestic violence and prevention.
Hi Stephanie,
Sounds like the work you did during your internship made a huge impact! Working with your community on such an important subject is amazing. Not only did you learn about the issues your community is facing, but you learned skills on how to combat that. I think it incredible that your site spent time educating people of all ages, because sometimes DV is tolerated in small doses at younger ages, and can grow significantly over their lifetime. I admire the work that this organization does.
As far as your personal growth from this experience goes, it sounds like you made a lot of growth in communication, conflict resolution and public speaking. These are not easy skills to master, but it sounds like this experience really helped set you up for success. What a great post and internship experience! I'm glad it goes with your major and helped with your skill set.
-Amanda M.
Hi Stephanie!
Reading about your experience as an intern at SafeNest was eye-opening and very intriguing, considering I also want to pursue the field of psychology further after I graduate! I agree that domestic violence is often not analyzed through multiple scopes and levels of severity, which makes it difficult for many people to even come to realize that they are battling with such a terrible factor. Trauma-focused counseling is one of the most prominent counseling fields, so experience at an internship like this will surely prepare you for a future career dealing with psychology! I think your advice about having clear communication with a supervisor is well-said, and developing a good relationship with a supervisor is also a plus! I utilized many of the same skills within my own internship, and it greatly assisted me in finishing the semester out strong. It was nice reading about your experience, and I wish you luck with whatever you decide to pursue in the future!