For every senior Social Work major, the spring
semester means the beginning of a semester-long field experience. Students
complete a 500 hour internship placement at an agency supervised by a current
Social Worker. This is an incredible opportunity for students to gain knowledge
and experience about working in the field.
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| Samantha Woodby and her supervisor from the Richland County Youth and Family Council |
Samantha Woodby shares her experiences at the
Richland County Youth and Family Council with us in the first of twelve
Internship Spotlights.
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What are your job duties at your internship? What kinds of activities
have you been involved in at your agency?
I am interning with the Richland
County Youth & Family Council. My duties at the Council vary on a day to day
basis. One of my main responsibilities with the Council is to serve as the
Service Coordinator. Currently, I am working on process evaluations for two
different services that we offer at the Council, juvenile diversion and care
management. My goal for this internship is to learn as much as I possibly can.
I hope to get involved in as many community activities as I can while I’m here
in hopes that this experience will help to prepare me for a future career.
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How has Ashland University's Social Work program prepared you for your
internship?
The professors in the Social Work
Program at Ashland University have done a wonderful job of preparing me for my
experience as an intern. I encounter situations each day that require the use
of the skills I have been taught in the social work program. Some of the things
that I have learned in the program at AU that I use regularly in my internship
include interviewing and assessment skills, case management skills, human
behavior theories, research skills, and most importantly, skills that allow me
to build strong working relationships with the people I serve. I have come to
find that the skills that I have learned in this program exceed those that are
taught in other Bachelor level social work programs. As a student, I feel
highly regarded and respected by many professionals in my community because I
am coming from Ashland University.
- What has been most enjoyable
or valuable about your internship experience so far?
What I
like most about my internship is that I have had the opportunity to gain
experience in not just one, but several social service agencies in my
community. The Youth & Family Council is a collaboration of many agencies
in Richland County. I have been lucky enough to spend time in a few of these
collaborating agencies. In doing so, I’ve been given the opportunity to network
with several of my community’s leaders in the social work field and to learn
about the field from various perspectives. In addition, this experience has
allowed me to gather information regarding many of the resources that are
available in my community. These are both valuable things that I will be able
to take with me when I finish school and move into a Social Work career.
