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AHS 8100

Journal Entry #1

The first week of my internship was enlightening in many aspects. When I met with my
supervisor two weeks ago I was made aware that I would be assigned to a location that has
experienced a bit of turnover in upper management recently, so I was somewhat prepared for that
reality. I am placed in the Boys and Girls Club located in the City of Wilmington, DE. I am
somewhat familiar with the area where the club is located. On my first day at the site I was met
by my supervisor and the Childcare Director who was very welcoming, and eager to have me on
board working with them to accomplish future goals. We met to establish parameters for how my
strengths, and skills could be used in this context to fulfill my learning goals, as well as assist in
various areas at the site. I advised that I am open to learning everything at my disposal, and was
offered the possibility of working with the Childcare Director, Teen Director, Unit Director, and
the Volunteer Director (my supervisor). This meeting on my first day made me feel very
comfortable about the pending experience. We also decided on my work schedule, and how my
time would be split working in the various areas (to be visited every two weeks to make needed
adjustments). The Childcare Director made it clear that I would be treated as a n equal, that my
experience is valued and recognized, and that my input is welcomed.
In the initial discussion that night I asked many questions to get a better understanding of
what areas I would be learning new skills, as well as to gauge how my input could be best
applied. I was presented with a couple of pending assignments that were being handled by the
Childcare Director, one of which I immediately completed that evening and reported the
outcome so that she could to move to the next step in the process. The other I worked on over the
next couple of days, and will wrap it up when I report back on Tuesday. I utilized my strength of
asking probing questions, and formulating a strategy to accomplish a task in this instance, and I
would not have done anything differently.
I also met with the Teen Director and discussed projects that she is working on, and goals
that had been set for the remainder of the year, to better gauge in what way I could learn, and
help accomplish the goals for the teen program. She provided me with reading material, and I
pursued information that she informed me about on the internet, to get a better understanding of
a couple programs that she mentioned. She also provided me with background information on
the club, and functionality of the organization. I started working on a chart to outline her aim,
and basic steps that would help fulfill her goals. This will be completed this week for her input,
and then we will be able to expand on the processes necessary to prioritize, and complete each
goal, if she is open to it.
To improve going forward I will reread some of my academic information on
organizational dynamics, and human service administration to prepare to move forward in this
learning experience. I have pondered using gap analysis to better gauge how to arrive at some of
the goals on the table. I might make use of the logic model concept as well, even if just
personally to view methods of accomplishing outcomes. I will revisit information I have read
and written about on change management and implementation. This will aid in setting up
processes in administration to assist with implementing processes for smoother functionality.
The Unit director is very interested in recruitment of new youth for the program, so I
have offered to attend PTA, and community meetings with him, and the other directors to gain
insight on how to best approach the recruitment effort, as well as to better assist with coming up
with marketing, and outreach processes. I am expected to lend input in a meeting this week on
ideas, so I am brainstorming ideas for the recruitment effort over the holiday weekend. The one
thing I will do to self-improve is to ask more probing questions, continue to take extensive notes,
and be open to every learning experience that I am afforded.
Journal Entry #2

My first night back on my internship I was dealing with feeling a little unprepared for what was
expected of me. After having a discussion on last week and coming back this week knowing that
they expected me to have input in a group meeting, I kind of entered it a little unsure if what I
had to offer, or share was going to have an impact or be useful, but I was able to move beyond
that feeling, and my input was well appreciated, welcomed. I also met with the Club Director on
my first night back about helping to plan a community day, in which I asked a lot of questions to
gauge where they were in the process, what ideas they had already entertained, and what had
been done in the past to boost membership. I also asked if anyone had done any research on the
needs of the local community, or gathered any data to gauge the best approach for marketing the
community day event to the local community. We tossed around some different ideas, and
meeting with him made me feel more comfortable brining ideas to the table, and he wrote down
quite a bit of what I spoke to him about, he decided to work on a couple of the items, and I took a
couple as well to gather info on and report back. So, I was able to get over my hesitance, and
both meetings went well.

My second night this week was very rewarding, and I was able to complete a project for the
Childcare Director that I started on the first night dealing with getting all the computers in the
Capital One donated computer lab up and running for the school aged children. On my first
night, I made her aware of the issues with some of the non-working computers, and sent her
information on what was needed to correct this issue, she was able to get the necessary funds
from the Director, and when I arrived they had purchased most of what was needed, and I spent
part of the shift correcting the issues. I was able to get all the computers up and running, except
on. We also discussed formulating procedures for teaching the children responsibility with the
computer usage, as well as accountability.
This week I was able to complete three major assignments that I started on my first week, and I
am now working on gathering statistical data about the local community to see how this
information can be utilized to formulate a strategy for recruitment, to assist with increasing the
membership at the Boys and Girls Club.
I plan on attending the next staff meeting (if possible), and I aim to attend a PTA meeting with a
couple of the Directors as well. A far as self-care, I am in the process of finding a therapist in this
area, I have made use of behavioral health services in the past, and it helps me with staying
focused, having someone to speak with about lifes issues, and with my schedule being as hectic
as it is and will be for the next three months, I believe that I will need an outlet to navigate the
experience while fulfilling my last semester.
Journal Entry #3

This week was very productive, and I learned more about the functionality of the Boys and Girls
Club. The club Director made me aware of a few meetings that he had with business and
community representatives that are interested in being involved in the community day that we
are working on for next month. Part of our previous conversations were centered on outreach and
changing the image of the club in the local community. He has located persons who are
interested in being a part of that change. I was able to work on the questionnaire that will be
handed out at the event to gain insight from parents on what services would better serve their
children, as well as what can be offered that might assist the parents. I gained input on the
questionnaire from the club Director, and childcare Director, and will sit with the teen Director
this week to gain her input, and then present the rough draft to the club Director.
I drafted a new bus pickup schedule for the childcare Director this week, she had started one, but
was not able to complete it, so I took what she had pooled all the information, and put it in a
format that she could manipulate and use going forward. I also worked on adding all the children
that participate in the morning and afternoon programs to the school contact list, so she can now
locate them faster. I also met with the club Director, and childcare Director to discuss my
learning contract and the need to have them sign off on it once it has been viewed by my faculty
instructor. They are more than willing to assist me in achieving my goals.
My improvement plan is to fine toon my objectives for my learning contract to gain maximum
progress as the weeks move on. I also need to do better with time management, until this point I
have never had an issue with time management, but this experience is teaching me that I can
improve in this area.
Journal Entry #4

This week has been a little different because I fulfilled part of my intern hours at another Boys
and Girls Club location on Saturday. The other location had an open house scheduled and I
worked outside at the dodge ball court. A few children came by to play dodge ball. Half of the
court was left open for the children to play basketball, so there were both activities taking place
at different times. It was an okay experience, I was in that area alone most of the time until
children came over to play, most them were more interested in the bouncy house that was also on
premises. The event was moderately attended, and the children that were there seemed to have a
nice time. There was quite a bit going on at the location that day, a local politician had a launch
meeting, and there were basketball league games taking place as well.

At my regular club assignment, I met with the teen program Director to acquire her input for the
parent questionnaire to be distributed at the community day that will be held on Saturday
October 14, 2017, at the location. Once I collected her information, I was able to complete the
questionnaire project and give it to each of them for feedback, or adjustments. I have received
positive feedback, from the childcare Director and will gather feedback from the club Director,
and teen Director this week. I worked on helping gain access to a couple of computer systems
that they were locked out of, as well as setting up printer to make the childcare Directors job a
little easier.
This week has caused me to look at a lot of aspects of my life differently, now that I have moved
and am settled into my new place. I have decided that I must take better care of myself, if not, all
of what I have been striving for will be for not. I must institute a definitive exercise plan, and
change my food consumption to work towards improving my health. Though I do not suffer with
any ailments, the weight is cumbersome. With my schedule picking up during this semester, and
not having any extra time, I have noticed that being out of shape has not helped, and I am more
tired than usual, though I do not get any extra rest. I believe that taking better care of myself
physically will in the short and long term be more advantageous.

Journal Entry #5

This last week was eventful, I am three months into a new job, and I have had to navigate some
office politics that I have never encountered. I was able to use some of the steps of the IPM to
formulate the best approach. In the dissonance phase I was able to gain clarity as to my
expectation and how it was not aligned with my co-workers, and that the bar that I set was much
higher, so I had to adjust my point of view and adapt to the situation.

Next week I will hit the halfway mark for my hours, so that is progressing well. I also finalized
the parent questionnaire this last week, and it is ready for final approval this week. I also finished
the College Readiness handout for the Teen Program Director, after getting her feedback this
past week.

I mentioned in a previous journal about starting to see a therapist again for self-care, and I have
my first session in the morning. Today was also my birthday, and it was nice, though I spent the
bulk of it working on schoolwork, but my schedule has been so busy that that was my only
option. All in all, it has been a productive week.

Journal Entry #6

This past week has been productive at my site location. I would first like to point out an
observation that I noticed while driving to Philadelphia this past week. I was admiring how
beautiful the weather was and amid zeroing in on this observation I realized that I was clenching
my jaw rather tightly (which seemed familiar), but it caused me to ponder what I was thinking
about prior to recognizing the weather, and I had been trying to navigate all that I had to do
throughout the day, and the rest of the week. I decided to pay closer attention to how often
during that day I realized that I was clenching my jaw, and it happened all day long. I did not
know that this was due to me feeling apprehensive and stressed. After pinpointing how much I
do this, I have started being more cognizant of it, pinpointing what I am thinking about at the
time, and learning to relax my jaw, to calm whatever is going on in my mind. When I went to my
dentist appointment the next day the technician asked me if I grinded my teeth at night while I
slept, and I made her aware of my experience the day before. So, she told me that I could get a
mouth guard if I felt that I needed it.

At the Boys and Girls Club we are less than a week away from the community day, and the flyer
was completed mid-week, and is just awaiting approval. I have completed the mailing list for
local businesses, and I have the final parent questionnaire ready to be handed out at the event. I
completed the college readiness flyer, and upon receiving the approved logo to place on the flyer
the Unit Director mentioned how much he appreciates all that I do. I am looking forward to the
community day, and I am still working on the layout for where vendors will be located, and what
equipment they will need.

Journal Entry #7

This week has been a very accomplished week at my internship and the community/open house
yesterday was a major success. We had a great turnout, I originally had a count that ended at
about 33 kids, after a while there were so many that I lost track. There were quite a few parents
that attended, and filled out the parent questionnaire that I created to gain input from parents on
what ways the Boys and Girls Club could better serve their children. It also will help in creating
efforts to better serve the parents of the community. As far as vendors go there was a bouncy
house for the children, the Capital Police came and did a presentation with K-9 dogs that sniff
out explosives. This went well with the kids, and they were able to play with the dogs, and
explore the police vehicles. The department of labor had a representative on site, the police
department was also present. I met the current counsel woman at large, there was a food truck on
site that fed everyone on site. There was face painting, the children were able to play basketball
in the gym on the ground floor, and the computer lab was available for viewing. One of the
highlights was the raffle in which gift bags for adults, and book bags for the children were raffled
off. There was also a girls bike raffled off that was contributed by AstraZeneca. There was also
a fire truck form the local fire dept. for the children to explore.
Another benefit of the community day was that we gained a few new members because of the
outreach effort. The new unit Director spoke to everyone in attendance about the new direction
of the club, and the services currently offered. He also introduced all the staff members, and
made all aware of the responsibilities each staff member fulfills. I look forward to the next phase
of my internship, I have fulfilled over half of my hours as of last week, and came in Friday night
to help prepare for Saturday, and came in early Saturday to prep for the day.
I was able to upload the documents that I have created for the club to my E-portfolio page, and
will upload pictures of work that I have done, as well as from the community day. I plan to
attend the celebration for George Krupanski (former CEO of the Boys and Girls Club) this week
at the Dupont Hotel, so I am looking forward to that experience. I also spoke with the volunteer
Director who is my immediate supervisor about meeting with the person in charge of fundraising
for the clubs to gain information on the development that goes on for the organization.
Journal Entry #9

The last couple of weeks at my internships have been rewarding. I decided to attend my
internship during week eight and started drafting an idea for a teen program that would assist
young people transition from adolescents to adulthood. I shared it with the teen director and will
be discussing it with her this week. I also discussed with my site supervisor the necessity of
having an email list of all the parents who have children that are a part of the before and after
school program as a way of communicating with them in a more expedient fashion. So, the
volunteer director and myself are working on gathering this information via student files, and a
special information sheet that I created for parents to submit this information.

During week nine I was asked by the childcare Director to assist with structuring a new program
that has been added to the Boys and Girls Club. They have already chosen a youth of the year for
the teen age category, but have now instituted a junior youth of the year initiative, so I am
working with her on formulating the best way to bring this to fruition, and she has asked me
about mentoring the young men who are chosen for the contest.

I also was asked to help at the Claymont clubs Fall Festival program Thursday night, and though
I was not working in an administrative capacity, I was able to network and meet a few people. I
maned one of the tables, and had a great time facilitating a game with the children and parents
that attended. They had a great turnout for their event, so it was a nice experience.

This week I have scheduled a meeting with the unit Director to discuss questions that I have
about the functionality of the club from is perspective, and to learn more about his management
style, and strategy for dealing with obstacles. I am also reaching out to the head of development
to schedule a meeting to go over fundraising information, and to learn more about the
development processes at the Boys and Girls Club of Delaware.

Journal Entry #10

This week has been a little daunting, due to so much to do and not enough time to get it all done.
I gained added responsibility at my day job which threw off my schedule since I had to work a
couple of longer days this week, which made me late for my internship for the first time. The
one night I had a celebration to attend with the Boys and Girls Club staff (which I made it in
time to attend), and I do not like being late anywhere. The celebration was for the Summer Co-
Lab project for which the Browns Boys and Girls Club received an award, as well as the many
other school sites, and clubs which were honored. It felt nice to be included, and I enjoyed the
experience.

I am not as far as I planned on being with my cultural awareness project because the day that I
was to attend an event involving my target population a family member needed my assistance,
and this threw everything out of whack. So, I must fulfill this aspect of the assignment while I
am at a convention in St. Louis this week (which was supposed to be part vacation), in which I
will be working on school work.
I am very good with time management, but during this semester juggling has been trying, and
though I am still on top, there have been a couple of times that I have asked what have I gotten
myself into. As I mentioned a few weeks ago I was scheduling appointments with a therapist,
and this has been beneficial so far. My improvement plan includes continuing the therapy
aspect, along with trying to rework my studying time, since different abnormalities has come up
recently. The nice part about last week is that I have reached the one-hundred-hour point on my
internship time, so with everything that has taken place I have just a few hours to go to meet the
minimum requirement.

Journal Entry #11

So, this week has been a very busy one, but I am glad that it is ending. I am currently still in St.
Louis, and just wrapped up my cultural immersion and agency paper. I had to work on it in
between services at my convocation. It has been very enlightening week since I was able to meet
some new people, and the experience at the Center for Practical Buddhism was great. This past
week at my internship I met with the Unit Director for about 2 hours and we had a great
discussion on his experience with the Boys and Girls Club, and I learned a lot about what goes
into running a club, and the challenges. I will include the notes from the interview in my E-
Portfolio, and I will be interviewing the Child-care Director when I get back this week.

My improvement plan includes still working on improving my time management about all that I
have on my plate this semester, as well as meeting with my therapist next week to go over how
things have been since our last session.

Journal Entry #12

This week has been hectic; I came back from St. Louis Monday early morning, and had to fly
back out of town Thursday to be in my best friends wedding in Atlanta, GA. So, and worked in
between, so I have struggled with getting my schoolwork in on time. I traveled with my laptop,
but time did not permit accomplishing all of what I needed to get done. I am a stickler for
punctuality, and deadlines, so I have been quite hard on myself over not accomplishing all that I
had to get done on time. I opted not to attend my site last week, because I just could not fit
everything that I had to do into the couple of days that I was at home. This week is also busy,
catching up at work, class, interning, and catching up on homework.
I am kind-of pulled at the seams, but believe I am handling it quite well, overall. As far as my
improvement plan goes, I will have my 120 hours in this week, so I will work on wrapping up
the current assignments that I am working on over the next three weeks at the Boys and Girls
Club. I meet with my therapist next week, which I believe will be very beneficial in helping me
process what has taken place since my last visit. I am also seriously contemplating what I will do
after completing my degree. I have been in school for so long now that it will feel funny not had
to go to class, or do homework.

Journal Entry #13

This week has been short with the holiday being the latter part of the week. When I arrived at the
club on Tuesday, they were in fourth gear preparing for the annual turkey giveaway that was also
a phot op for a local politician. I jumped right in helping to prepare the club for the large amount
of people expected that evening. Since they were giving out turkeys to the parents of the
children, the staff kept the children that day until the 9800pm event began, so there were plenty
of children, as well as people from the neighborhood there. The Boys and Girls Club also has a
catered Thanksgiving dinner for the volunteers, so I assisted in setting that up, and they had
plenty of food for volunteers, and staff available.

I was only there one day this week due to holiday plans to go out of town, but I was able to
follow-up on a letter of recommendation form the unit director, and the evaluation from my site
supervisor, which will be ready when I return this week. This week will be the last week to fulfill
my internship hours, though I have agreed to stay on as a volunteer. This experience has caused
me to zero in on the need for furthering educational attainment for young men of color, and to
see some of the barriers that are causing discrepancies.

As part of my improvement plan I will start considering statistics dealing with the educational
status of young men receiving their education in Delaware, and aim to identify the best strategy,
and plan of addressing these issues most effectively. I have been concentrating more on the
program idea that I drafted recently having to do with a transition program for inner-city youth. I
believe that this will serve as the foundational program for my non-profit which involves a much
larger, and far reaching vision. This internship experience has helped open my eyes as to the
needs in the city of Wilmington, DE, and the Boys and Girls Club has served as the platform for
recognizing this.

Journal Entry #14

This week has been a good week for the most part, I am wrapping up my course work, and
finalizing my internship experience. The week started out rather busy with me attending my
assignment Monday Thursday, since I had a meeting scheduled at the Fraim Center to fulfill
the last portion of my learning plan. I went over with the Unit Director, and Childcare Director
what I had to complete by the end of the week. We also discussed me staying on a volunteer
basis, and how that would look schedule wise going forward. Later in the week there was a
program in which local law enforcement facilitated a session with the male youth of the club
that zeroed in on communication, understanding laws, and their rights, and role playing of
scenarios, to better help them navigate interaction with law enforcement. I sat in on this session
and feel that is was effective due to the buy-in of the youth as the session progressed.

I met with the Executive Director of Major & Planned Giving Thursday and it was very
enlightening. I learned quite a bit about the development process of the Boys and Girls Club of
Delaware. She was able to confirm some things that I was already aware of, and opened my eyes
to other aspects of fundraising, and development, so it was a great experience. I have submitted
the results of that meeting in the Administrative Personnel Interview section of my E-Porfolio to
verify my acquisition of new knowledge regarding fundraising and development. I also included
scans of pamphlets that we went through, and discussed. She also invited me to attend the next
Greater Wilmington area unit board meeting, and sent an email to verify the next meeting date &
time.
On my last night at the Brown club I briefly spoke with the teen director and gained her
feedback on the Adolescent to Adulthood Program that I drafted last month. She had some very
good questions, and resource ideas for my program, so I am appreciative. Friday was a little
stressful, I called ahead to the club to make the Childcare Director aware that I was stuck in
traffic, but would be there within 15 minutes, the front desk person failed to give her the
message, so when I arrived, she had left for the day. I explained that my reason for calling was
to avoid that happening, so the front desk person called her cell and asked her to come back. She
retuned and signed off on my paperwork, which I appreciate. I also, found out the Unit Director
did not come in that day, and we had discussed him having the letter of recommendation for me
when I arrived Friday. I am glad that I followed my first mind and asked another administrator
for a letter which she had ready for me the day before. So, I had a least one of the two that I
planned on including in my E-Portfolio.

All-in-all it has been a good week, busy, but good. I plan on attending the unit board meeting,
and continuing as a volunteer with the Boys and Girls Club. This has been a rewarding
experience. I am looking forward to not having to do homework for a moment, since I have been
in school for quite a long time at this point. I will join my place of employments toastmasters
club this week, so I can begin working on becoming more comfortable with public speaking.

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