Amanda Vandermeer
Summer Intern
St. Liborius Catholic Church
As I began looking at the possibilities for this summer the prospects looked dim. I could work in a clothing or grocery store. I would gain experience in dealing with the public. That is what I kept telling myself. That is how I spent my last summer.
But I want to become a teacher. I want to do the best job I can. Those types of jobs do not help me in the ways I need help. I have worked with the public on and off campus. I want to get inside a school.
Then I got the e-mail, the chance to help myself in any way I could think of! I could not believe that the Center for Vocational Reflection could possibly be offering me whatever I needed most. Then again, I figured I should not just pass up the opportunity. So I searched and found exactly what I had been hoping for.
St. Liborius, a Catholic church near my hometown, holds a 10 week summer program for children of many ages. Teachers from their school run the program and they receive little help. They go on field trips, let the children enjoy the outdoors while learning about it, and work with one another on various projects. The director was ecstatic when I told her I was thinking about interning at the program. I get to work with each of the teachers at different times throughout the summer. I can take on as much responsibility as I am comfortable with. I can work side by side with the type of teachers I would like to become. Best of all, I will have a chance to teach a younger set of students than those I will be teaching in my profession. I will be a High School math teacher in a couple years, but I did not know if I wanted to also teach religious education. I have had no experience instructing children before adolescence thus far and I do not know if I will be able to take on a class all by myself. However, soon I will have the opportunity to work with teachers in an ideal setting. I can both observe and interact with many student age groups. I can discern for myself if CCD teaching is for me and what age group I would like.
In the future I think I would like to work in a religiously affiliated school. I think. One last blessing I now have is that, after this summer, I will have a better idea of the real environment a teacher in that type of school lives in. I will student teach in a public school so I was not worried about experiencing that situation, but not I can compare the two and intelligently decide which is best for me. I could not have had the chance to figure out any of those things without the help of the Center for Vocational Reflection. I cannot wait for the summer and the many opportunities this summer presents!
