Hi everyone! My name is Alicia and this is the first time I have ever blogged so I am completely new to this...bare with me!
Let's see...I am 23 and scared to death of what the future holds for us graduates, aren't you!? On a positive note, I am glad that we are almost done! This internship experience is my last and final step, as I am certain is the case for most of us...thank goodness! :)
My two concentration areas are Family Studies/Human Development and Transborder Studies. I chose family studies because I absolutely love kids and wanted to focus on how their environment and family effects their development. I also enjoy learning about the generic dynamics of the family including culture, diversity, death, human milestones etc. As for transborder studies, I found it to be essential to take up the learning experience as a Latina and en lieu of all that our country is facing these days with immigration.
This summer I am interning at Chances for Children of Arizona. This organization looks to run obesity out of our schools and promote healthier lifestyles for our youth. Specifically I am eager to work with at-risk children as this will incorporate much of what I have learned within my Family Studies; how to communicate, advocate, promote, enourage, inspire, work with and integrate creative ways to enhance the lives of these children and their families. Further, aspects I have learned within Transborder studies will also come into play in regards to culture, backgrounds, ethnicity, personal accounts and immigration. So far, at my internship site I have compiled lists and researched on companies that we are hoping to reach out and seek support from in promoting kids races and marathons for families to partake in. This relates to what I have studied because it involves extensive communication and interpersonal skills.
Future goals post graduation definately includes working with kids. I would love to be a counselor of some sort. But much as I love listening, I love to talk even more! I love public speaking. Maybe I can host a show or become a spokesperson for various charitable organizations that promote healhy decision making for our youth. That's why this internship position is in the pathway of exactly what I hope to pursue in a career- working with and FOR people who need help. Quality of life is so important and I know that it starts with our kids! Knowing this, I am excited to come up with ways of letting these kids know that they really do have a "chance"..because in many of these situations, the children are so accustomed to unhealthy stipulations. They have accepted abuse, violence, poverty and even certain strained health conditions such as obestiy as normal. It's so upsetting to see. I am eager to show them otherwise!
Maybe I shouldn't be scared to death of the future after all.
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Hey Alicia I am a first time blogger as well and if I do say so you are off to an amazing start. I think that it is only natural to be afraid of the future. I question myself every day, “Did I pick the right field of study?” “What am I going to do when I am done with school?” What I think is amazing is that you are still facing it head on. We like you said are nearing the end and this internship is the final step giving us that controlled experiment feeling before jumping head first in to the working world. I think it is amazing that you are so passionate about working with kids I think that will be your shinning light. You want to make a difference and with that attitude you will. Also you have chosen a very awesome place to intern for your areas of studies. I think what I like about your areas of study, your field site, and your interests is that is about understanding every aspect of the Childs life right down to their environment. The company you are working for sounds so amazing I think the first step to helping children is to get the community aware and not just blame the parent or the child. Congratulations on you new endeavor I hope that you learn everything you set out to learn from them. Also one thing I can tell you about fear is from a little actor secret I love, fear shows that you are alive and have passion to prove your greatness. Houdini would become ill before every performance, but he would say the day he wasn’t nervous was the day he would stop performing. Good Luck and I can wait to hear more.
ReplyDeleteHey I see we have a lot in common. I too love children and enjoy working with them. One of my concentration areas is also the same as yours, family studies & human development. I find this concentration area to be very interesting and I love that I can gain knowledge that can to applied to my own life and not just information for my future career. I also am scared to see what the future holds, but there's only one way of finding out & that's jumping in head first. Ok maybe not head first but more like with your head held up high. I feel strongly about the new immigration bill, so I see that your other major is Transborder studies and that this is also a topic of interest to you. Keep gaining knowledge and working hard in this area as it will pay off in the long run for yourself and for others.
ReplyDeleteHi Alicia,
ReplyDeleteI hope that you have a good first blogging experience in this class. You are the first student that I have met with a concentration in Transborder studies. To be honest, I didn't even know that there was a concentration in transborder studies. Cool. It's a great concentration to have especially with all that is going on today that relates to immigration and border issues. I personally have been a little obsessed with speaking out against SB 1070, the ban on ethnic studies and the letting go of teachers with strong accents here in AZ. My mission is to promote intercultural understanding, so I get worried when I see instances of racism and it seems like its defiantly on the rise. I also worry that the Latino population is being scapegoated due to the economic recession. Its not healthy for your society! Your internship also sounds really interesting and with a little luck it might turn into a job for you or at least a stepping stone towards a job. Chances for children sounds like an interesting organization that is doing good work. Childhood obesity is huge, even my own daughter although not obese has some chub. I think that its not only all the junk food out there, but also the decrease in exercise. I can see if children live in unsafe neighborhoods their parents might not want them outside playing and if they are just sitting around watching tv this could easily lead to obesity.