My Step project was a school social work internship in Pickerington, Ohio. At my internship, I worked closely with the school counselor at Toll Gate Middle School. Throughout this internship, I gained experience attending professional meetings, completed various social work trainings, worked with students individually, facilitated small group discussions with students, connected families with community resources, and participated in district-wide events.

My understanding of myself changed throughout this internship experience as I was able to feel very comfortable and confident working in a school social work position. Considering that this was my first internship experience, I struggled with self-doubt and worries that I may not be capable of succeeding in a difficult placement such as this. Through putting myself in an initially uncomfortable position and diving head-first into the position, I repeatedly watched myself succeed and flourish at each task at hand. My views of the world were also transformed throughout my experience at my internship as my perspective and overall knowledge has been greatly expanded. At Toll Gate Middle School, I had the opportunity to work closely with a diverse population of middle school students from different cultures and backgrounds. Listening to the stories and experiences of these students allowed my perspective to increase as I became aware of many challenges and struggles that I have never faced myself. I also attended many cultural and diversity trainings that helped me learn and understand how to work with other populations and those with differing experiences from my own.

Two relationships that have impacted my understanding of myself are my task instructor, Kelli, and my field supervisor, Erica. Both Kelli and Erica have helped me learn valuable skills and information about the social work field and how to make a difference in the lives of the students we work with. In the process of learning, Kelli and Erica have also continually been encouraging and have provided valuable feedback that has helped me gain overall confidence in my own abilities. In addition to providing knowledge and encouragement, Kelli and Erica have also pushed me to challenge myself with the tasks I take on each day in placement. As I am initially hesitant to take on some of these tasks, their support has given me the extra push that I needed to grow confidence in my abilities. Both relationships have been very impactful to my understanding of myself as they have been nurturing and encouraging but have greatly challenged me as well.

One specific interaction that I had with a student at my internship has greatly impacted my overall perspective on the world. This student was crying in the lunchroom during one of my first few weeks and I was sent by a teacher to check on her and offer support to her. The student was initially hesitant to open up to me about her struggles, but after speaking with her for a while she informed me that her mother had recently been laid off from her job. This information was making the student very anxious and worried about her mother as she was at school. A few days after speaking with this student, I had a follow-up with her where she thanked me profusely for my support and informed me that her mother had an interview set up with a new job. Overall, my encounter with this student shifted my perspective of the world as it caused me to realize the depth of the struggles that people face on a daily basis. It taught me the lessons that I may never know what others are silently going through and the importance of always treating others with kindness.

An activity at my internship that has also shifted my views of the world is my experience facilitating small group discussions with students. These discussions take place once each month and are focused on topics such as anxiety/stress, changing families, friendships, and other topics relevant to middle school students. When sending out sign-up sheets for these discussion groups, I did not realize how many students would express a need to speak about their challenges within these topics. The greatest surprise to me was how many middle school students struggle with intense anxiety and panic attacks at school daily. Hearing first-hand experiences of mental health struggles from eleven- and twelve-year-old children was very heartbreaking and caused me to gain further awareness of mental health issues. When I was in middle school, my peers had never talked about mental health struggles, making this experience very shocking to me. All in all, my perspective on the world has been impacted by the stories of students as I am now aware of how widespread and frequent mental health struggles are among people of all different ages, cultures, and backgrounds.

These realizations about myself and changes in my perspective of the world are very significant and directly relate to my future professional goals. In the social work profession, our ethical values include competence, service, social justice, equity, and more. The lessons that I have learned at my internship align with all these ethical values as this experience has taught me the important lesson of treating others with unconditional kindness. My experiences at Toll Gate Middle School have allowed me to grow confidence in myself and my abilities. I will take this confidence with me into my future profession as I continue to face increasingly challenging tasks in the social work field. This internship also has allowed my perspective on the world to shift as I have learned more about how to work with many different populations in our society and different struggles they may face. This is very relevant to the social work profession because I will be working with clients experiencing many different challenges from various cultures and backgrounds. All in all, this internship at Toll Gate Middle School has taught me valuable lessons that have prepared me greatly for the work I will do in my future profession.