Emily Wirtz - December 2017 Intern of the Month!

Congratulations to Emily Wirtz who has been named Ashland University’s December Intern of the Month! Emily graduated in December and majored in Pychology, Creative Writing, and Religion. During her internship she worked as an Outreach and Prevention Assistant at Safe Haven, a rape crisis and domestic violence center. 

Emily assisted in rebranding general marketing materials as well as created a new set of marketing materials to be used on campus. She also researched and assisted in the creation of new programs, including a college-geared social media platform, college-age support group for sexual assault survivors, and teaching curriculum for high school and college students. Additionally, she had the opportunity to attend training in advocacy and awareness for sexual assault and domestic violence. Emily continually worked directly with the Title IX committee of AU to improve policy and support for all students.

“The subject matter of this internship has prepared me to do ground-level work with people in need. It has given me the tools to care for others and myself in stressful and high-risk situations, such as those present in circumstances of domestic violence and sexual violence. Additionally, the internship, and more specifically my supervisor, has provided me with the social and business etiquette to function and excel in the workplace, no matter who I am working with. Working in this environment has showed me how to raise my voice for important issues and be respectful while doing so.”

The Career Services Center is so glad you achieved a great deal at your internship, Emily. We hope the skills and knowledge you obtained will continue to benefit you on your career path. Thank you for sharing your experience with us and we wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Internship Spotlight -- Dendara Oakleaf

As a psychology major in my final semester, I can honestly say I would be lost if I hadn’t completed an internship last semester. From January until the end of April, I interned at Ashland Parenting Plus (APP). Normally, APP interns are social work majors. In fact, I was the very first psychology major to intern at APP. This was a perfect fit for me, though, as the direction I had been planning on going with my degree overlaps between psychology and social work. APP is a nonprofit organization that works with at-risk adolescents. Although there are multiple ways in which APP accomplishes this, the program I was most involved with was the girl empowerment groups in Ashland County Schools.

Twice per week, I went to either the Ashland High School or Middle School and met with groups of adolescent girls to discuss topics such as relationships, communication skills, and human reproduction. Additionally, the girls would discuss any personal problems they were currently experiencing, and we would work as a group to figure out potential ways to best handle the situation. Ultimately, the groups served as an escape from reality for the girls while teaching them skills to help buffer them from any potentially harmful circumstances.

Through these groups, I gained experiences that helped confirm the direction I was already planning to go with my undergraduate in psychology and a more specific direction to go with my future education. This internship not only gave me experience working with adolescents, but helped me to discover a passion for helping adolescents who have experienced trauma. All thanks to this internship, I have been able to definitively decide to pursue my Masters in Social Work. Even though I am not continuing my education in the field of psychology, the AU Psychology Department has provided a solid background that will help to enrich my future in social work.

Courtney Gallagher '15

Courtney Gallagher graduated with a degree in psychology in the spring of 2015.  Check out this video produced by the Ashland University Career Services Center that details the internship and other experiences that Courtney had while she was an AU student.  Click HERE to watch!

Internship Spotlight - Morgan Phillips

 During the summer of 2014 I had the opportunity to intern at the Ohio Lottery Commission’s headquarters in downtown Cleveland, working in the Human Resource Department. My time at OLC made me realize how much I want to work in Human Resources once I graduate.

This summer I was able to learn so much about what goes into human resources! For the couple months that I worked there, I was exposed to many different aspects of HR. I was able to process applications, meaning I picked through 200+ applications and narrowed it down to only 25. After this I would set up interview times, send paperwork and collect paperwork, set up drug tests and finger printing. I also helped to update position descriptions and process other paperwork. There were multiple orientations for new employees while I was there, so I was given the opportunity to help with those also.

My biggest project throughout the summer was to put together the Workforce Plan for the next year. Every state agency is required to compile a document analyzing the statistics of their agency from the last year. It also analyzes the projections for the next year and how the agency will deal with hiring, firing, and other changes in the workforce. I had the opportunity to create the Workforce Plan for the entire agency, with the guidance of my supervisor. After the summer at the Ohio Lottery, I realized how much I love human resources and that is what I plan to do once I graduate.

Intership Spotlight - Nicole Austin

During the summer of 2013, I completed an internship with The City Mission in Cleveland, Ohio. The City Mission is a non-profit homeless shelter for men, women, and children and is located downtown. The purpose of the mission is to not only give immediate shelter, but allow clients to enter a three-phase program that provides them with the skills to live on their own in middle-class America while teaching lessons with a biblical foundation. 

While at the mission, I served as an early childhood development assistant for children ages three to six years.  With the help of two other interns, I developed a nine week vacation bible school program appropriate for the different age ranges of children. Since I was with the preschool aged children, I also worked directly with case workers and the therapist to report behavior and warn them of any developmental lapses.  

The internship highly impacted the way I look at homelessness and those involved. It also allowed me to turn the information I learned in the classroom into practical skills such as watching for symptoms of certain disorders and designing a program that would allow children to learn based on their age. Moreover, the internship reaffirmed that I should pursue a career in psychology that allows me to work with children on a regular basis.   

Internship Spotlight - Shelby Gaydosh

This summer I completed my second internship at Lorain County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services (LCADA). LCADA is a non-profit organization to help those struggling with addiction. When I started my first summer at LCADA, I had no idea working with addicts was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

The first summer at LCADA I was able to assist with the suboxone program; the program designed to use medication (suboxone) to help the opiate addicts with withdrawal symptoms and to block the euphoric effects opiates have on the brain. I was able to observe the individual sessions, talk to the clients, drug test the clients, and sit in with the client and the doctor since suboxone is distributed by a doctor, not a counselor. The second summer at LCADA I was able to observe more of the counseling principles. I was able to sit in on assessments, individual sessions, and also family sessions. I was able to practice progress notes and treatment plans and receive constructive criticism for what I should change and also told what I did correctly.

Both internships at LCADA were very helpful to me for my future goals. Although I did not know that working with addicts is what I wanted to do, I know now that this is what I want. Working at LCADA gave me experience through observation, which is important because you cannot learn to counsel through a book. This internship helped prepare me for not only graduate school, but also my future career.  

Mickey Rogers To Complete Summer Internship in Thailand

Mickey Rogers will be graduating this spring with double majors in Psychology and Criminal Justice.  After graduation, she'll be preparing for a unique opportunity to intern for a Christian non-profit organization called Remember Nhu. Mickey will be spending most of June and July in Chiang Mai, Thailand working with the RNhu staff. This organization specializes in the prevention of human trafficking by going into poor villages in developing countries and assessing those who are highest for the risk of being trafficked. They then offer the children the option of coming to live in their half-way house where the RNhu staff can help them grow into independent individuals who are no longer at risk of being trafficked. While there, she will be living in the half-way house, mainly working with the children and observing what RNhu actually does. Mickey is very excited to be able to go to Thailand and have this experience!

Internship Spotlight - Lauren Goossens

Since there is not a speech-language pathology program here at Ashland, I knew I wanted to do something that would allow me to gain more knowledge about the field and become more prepared for graduate school. I was worried that I would not be able to do an internship with a speech-language pathologist (SLP) since I am a psychology major, but I was happy when I found out that I could complete and internship with an SLP. I called Brethren Care Village and I talked to the Director of Nursing, who was more than willing to make sure that I was able to complete an internship with the SLP at the facility. I began my internship in September, and I actually got the chance to work with two different SLPs, as there were some changes of employees at Brethren Care Village. I decided to do the one-credit hour internship, as this worked best with my class and work schedule.

At the internship, I was not certified to do any of the therapy, so I mainly observed the SLP. Observation was just as helpful though, as I got to see the therapy first-hand, and I was able to talk to the SLP about what they were doing and why they were doing it. I worked with two very good SLPs who took the time to sit down and explain to me different aspects of the field, and they made sure that they answered any questions that I had. I learned more about the daily life of an SLP, the different evaluation and treatment options/techniques, the consistencies of food, how to build rapport with the patients and families, and the different employment opportunities for SLPs. This was a great way to prepare me for graduate school, as well as for a career in the field of speech-language pathology.