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past employer comments > the children's school - stamford,
ct "For as many years as we can remember, at least fifteen, we have had interns from Venture at The Children's School. We have a strong commitment to the program because of the reciprocal exchange. One of the many unique qualities of The Children's School is our ability to individualize learning for each child. We offer the same opportunity to Venture interns-to immerse themselves in a year to explore their own potential, while working in a stimulating, supportive, educational environment with children three to eight years of age. " Every student who has come through this program has brought so much to The School. In return, careful thought is given to what the School can give back to each intern, particularly in regard to personal and professional growth. A budget is set and discussed to plan for each student's development, whether it be coursework, workshops or designing programs for classroom curriculum. " As an example, due to the School's extensive use of video on a daily basis, one of our former interns extended her interest in video by creative editing of tapes done for each child's yearly parent conference. She went on to pursue a fellowship in Hollywood in production! Another talented student created a social studies curriculum based on his vast background in American history. A young woman interested in multi-culturalism developed a Spanish program using a sock puppet to introduce Spanish to children. She recently was accepted for a grant to pursue a multi-media project to coach young adults in South America. One of our current interns is teaching sign-language --the list could go on and on. " Strong bonds are formed among staff members, and we do our best to maintain communication after interns have moved on--although several of them have stayed to work on a full-time basis! . . . Our long-range intention is to continue to support the Venture program in any way we can. We look forward to working with bright, enthusiastic applicants who will continue to add a fresh perspective to our program." > aquila management corporation - new york, ny "We have been pleased overall with Venture interns. We have taken on two types of interns: students with financial difficulties and students interested in focusing their education in preparation for a career. The Venture interns have been highly motivated to learn and eager to take on multiple tasks to make their internship a truly meaningful experience. Our program has served as a learning experience for interns on three different levels. " For some interns, their time at Aquila is an introduction to an office situation. As a relatively small company, students also gain exposure to the operation of a small business with a minimal staff. And thirdly, students have an opportunity to increase their knowledge of the industry. The interns are great for the company because they keep employees in touch with the academic sphere and make them aware of the interests and concerns of younger individuals. Students have enjoyed the internships and many have kept in touch. One student applied for a position with Aquila after graduation, and while we had no openings we were able to get him an interview at a local firm. He was offered a job with the company, and he continues to keep in touch with us." > glen helen outdoor center - yellow springs, oh "Without our interns, our organization would sink. The interns are responsible for educating the children who come through the center about the outdoors. Since we run an academic internship, the interns have to complete reading assignments, prepare lesson plans, perform peer observations, and complete a major project during their stay. " While we have had a number of successful intern relationships with Venture, we were especially pleased and impressed with how caring and concerned Paul was in his interactions with both students and staff. He was constantly exploring new ideas, extremely supportive of staff members, and he made admirable efforts to resolve conflicts within the staff if things went wrong. Paul definitely exceeded our expectations for the position. " Our program provides interns with an opportunity to fulfill academic requirements while developing crucial skills like effective communication and coordination of activities, along with specialized wildlife experience. We believe that the Naturalist internship serves as a stepping stone for further development by providing expansive learning opportunities for participants. Students leave this position with a broad repertoire of ideas. The fact that our interns tend to return year after year and that many have continued to keep in touch demonstrates that sense of community and value which our program fosters." > kellogg child development center - boulder, co "The Kellogg Child Development Center is a nonprofit child care center dedicated to providing high quality care to children aged three months to five years and to raising the standards of child care on a national level by providing a working, replicable model of a high quality center. Our unique Primary Caregiving program involves professional caregivers remaining with one cluster of children from infancy all the way through preschool and kindergarten readiness. This allows children being raised outside of the home the continuity of care so crucial for healthy child development. Our clusters are very small, with only 3 to 6 children per group. . . . " We had our first Venture intern, Jessica Manlin, during the summer of 1996. Jessica worked as a teacher assistant "floating" from class to class and learning as she went. Jessica was truly a breath of fresh air, she asked questions constantly and really took every opportunity she found to learn. She received a crash course in child development and increased her teaching skills dramatically. She tells us the benefits were numerous and that she had a wonderful time here with us. We certainly loved having her, and the benefits to our program were significant. " Our goal of raising the standards of child care nationally is a huge goal; every time we send our "message" whether it be through an enthusiastic intern or via media spotlights, it helps support our work here. The logistical, hands-on help provided by interns is, of course, invaluable as well. We also believe that the world is a small place and the more contact we have with people from other places and cultures, the more we are enriched as teachers and families. We are able to grow and learn, celebrating other people's differences and the diversity that the world has to offer. We have started accepting interns from other organizations as well as the Venture Consortium and we will continue to do so. The interns enrich our program and our work significantly." (back to top) |
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