A week before starting my internship at New Visions Center (NVC) in Alexandria I had this overwhelming thought of “I’m not ready…” and I was right. None of the knowledge I learned from my college professors and courses could have fully prepared me for the massive amounts of knowledge that I learned from my hands-on experience as an intern. I had this preconceived notion that an intern does the things that nobody else wants to do. What I did not know and had come to learn is that, as an intern, doing the things “nobody else wants to do” gave me the opportunity to know myself on a deeper level. I learned many things as an intern but there are three things that I learned that I will never forget.
1. Learning who you are
Throughout my internship I had learned more about myself and my capabilities, strengths and areas that I needed to work on. In my classes, I had a professor that had always told us “be yourself with your clients.” I always thought to myself, “That’s easy. I know who I am.” I proved myself wrong. As a person in recovery myself I knew what it was like to be in clients’ shoes but was limited to only seeing it through my own lens. I had gained self-awareness of my own bias and pushed this aside to really see the clients for who they are. Learning about myself was a never- ending thing throughout my internship. Even though I was in a “counselor” position the clients taught me so much about myself while I helped them learn about themselves.
2. Working as a team is important
What I love about the team at NVC is that they are always willing to help each other. There was never a time when I was afraid to ask for help and often times I didn’t have to ask for it because it was offered. What I appreciated most about the team at NVC was that I was always given the opportunity to be able to learn more by all of the counselors. When I wasn’t feeling confident, someone was always there to give me a helping hand and guide me. When I made a mistake, I was given grace and shown how to do it the right way. There was never a time that I felt like I didn’t belong or wasn’t a valued member of the NVC team.
3. Be yourself
The last thing I will never forget as an intern is advice that I was given and would like to pass on to other interns - be yourself. Your clients will respect you for it and you will respect yourself for it. Be open-minded and understanding. As you learn more about the clients you are working with, you will learn more about yourself if you keep an open mind. You are valued. As an intern, you have a fresh perspective that is needed. Speak up and assert yourself. Your thoughts and ideas are valuable.
As I near the end of my internship, I can’t say that throughout my time it was all glitter and unicorns. There were challenges. There were times where I wanted to give up and I thought I couldn’t do it. I stuck with it. I implemented self-care. I reached out to the team at NVC and I made it through. I cherish this time at NVC and the amazing people that I was gifted the opportunity to learn from and work beside. I will carry the knowledge I’ve gained and the insights shared with me and apply these to my future career in the field.