10.1 Chapter Overview
It is natural to form connections and attachments with people and projects as you advance through various phases of life. As you leave behind rewarding experiences and valued relationships, it is well to remember that change is both natural and inevitable. Growing and evolving require moving on and attempting new things.
Remember that there are many new and exciting possibilities ahead, like chapters in a book. They offer different opportunities for positive involvement with new people and new paths for you to explore. With each step taken, you will continue to learn more about yourself and your unique style. As a part of this never-ending process, you will discover things to change or improve on. Your increased self-awareness will help you take the next step in your professional evolution as well. Over time, you will help make the world a better place, especially for your clients and the general public.
Throughout this internship, you may have had to overcome personal, economic, and professional challenges. No doubt you made some mistakes, but you learned a lot as well. It is important to remember the failures, or at least learn from them so that you do not repeat them. However, positive psychology indicates that there is value in focusing on success. It is also important to realize that with each step moving forward, you will encounter a new set of challenges and learn more advanced skills. When you complete the hours necessary for your internship, it is often useful to look back again at the time you spent at your site. Think of the people you met and the things you learned. If you are not going on to a job, then you might consider volunteering to work in another agency in the field. Volunteering in a variety of settings that interest you might be an excellent way to develop a better sense of what you would like to do, while at the same time adding to your network and resumé.
Now the formal evaluation is over, the goodbyes are done, and you have completed your class. No matter where you were at the beginning of the course, you have improved as a professional, and perhaps as a person. It is now time to reward yourself in whatever ways are meaningful to you.
10.1.1 Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
- Integrate learning into practice
- Apply personal DEI lens to current human service practice
10.1.2 Preview of Key Terms
- Diversity: the practice or quality of including or involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, etc. that may or may not intersect with each other
- Equity: the quality of being fair and impartial and providing equitable access to different perspectives and resources to all students
- Inclusion: the practice or quality of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise systemically be excluded or marginalized, such as those who have physical or mental disabilities and members of other minority groups.
- Networking: the continuous development of a supportive system of sharing information and connections between individuals and groups that share common interests
- Resumé: a summary of your experience, knowledge and skills that demonstrates your ability to perform the job for which you are applying
10.1.3 Licenses and Attributions for Chapter Overview
Adapted from Mruk, Christopher J. and Moor, John C., “Succeeding at Your Internship: A Handbook Written for and with Students” (2020). Open Educational Resources. 1. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.