Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a great start to 2014! January can be an exciting time for McDaniel students because it means Jan Term. Some people take classes, some people go on amazing trips, and others, like myself, do internships. My junior year, I did an internship through the Human Services Program working at a homeless shelter called Cold Weather. The Cold Weather shelter is only open during the winter months and is for people who have no where else to go at night. I did several different things for my internship. I did office work, clean up, inventory, monitored volunteers, and I also worked at the shelter while it was open. That was my favorite part of the internship, actually interacting with the residents. The residents would check in around 6pm. Then they would set up their stuff and sit down to eat dinner. The dinner was brought in by a group of volunteers every night…which speaks for how great the town of Westminster is! Throughout the night, the residents would watch TV, shower, do chores, and chat. I always kept very busy, running around assisting residents or volunteers. Some nights were chaotic with some residents needing medical attention or disagreements between residents, but it was an incredible learning experience for me. Doing an internship as your Jan Term is a great way to get exposure in your field of study. Also, it is during three weeks of no classes, so you are able to really put all your time and effort into whatever you are doing. If you cannot manage to go on an abroad trip or do not feel like taking more classes, I definitely recommend an internship! I was very happy with mine and now that my Jan Term is finished, I get to stay home in good ole Colorado for a lot longer this year!
So that is my story 🙂 Keep enjoying the remainder of your break!
-Sam
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