Whirlwind

Three days ago my internship at Building Healthy Families started. It's been a whirlwind to say the least. I have observed numerous clients, programs, meetings and get togethers over the past three days and have picked up on a few key themes. 

The first is that of togetherness.  This comes in many forms.  Each of the Building Healthy Families staff members work great together.  Things seem to run smoothly, each does their own job very well, and they are always communicating and collaborating with each other.  Also, each of the community members for the most part work together.  Today, I attended Drug Court, a hiring meeting and also a Community Resource Team meeting.  At each of these events several community leaders gathered, discussed the topic, and worked effectively together.  This was amazing to me.

Also, there is a great deal of respect.  The staff members respect each other.  The staff members respect me as an intern.  The staff members respect the Executive Director, who in turn respects the staff.  And the staff members respect each and every one of their clients.  I have been able to observe interactions with a few of the clients in the past three days, and they also have a great deal of respect for the Building Healthy Family program as a whole and its staff members. 

The last theme I noticed is that for this line of work, there are never enough hours in the day.  I have not had a free moment since I began at 8 AM on Monday morning.  It has been go, go, go, and that is how everyone in the office is.  Each staff member has their share of duties, and those fill up their day.  Today I shadowed the Executive Director more closely and we had several meetings that she was a part of.  The days are BOOKED-and I didn't even have time to do my note-taking on a particular case. Whew.  Good thing there are five more days next week.

In sum, it has been an incredible ride so far...and I know there is so much more to come. That has just been week one!

Unforgettable

This past weekend I graduated from Washington State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Human Development.  How exciting.  It is truely a weekend I will never forget.  These are just a few of the highlights:

5. Tailgating in the Crimson & Gray parking lot :) My apartment was a mess (Ugh, roommates!), campus was crazy, so we made the best of it! We put out the snacks on Uncle Bill's tailgate, and dug right in!
4. Introducing my family to some of my professors (and my advisor/mentor Laura).  It's funny to think that these two different groups of people know me so well on so many levels, yet they do not know each other! It felt like a gap in my circle was closed.
3.Sitting down to a nice dinner with my family, some of Casey's family, and some friends.  It was relaxing, and so heartwarming to see the different groups of people (who had just met) enjoy a meal together. 
2. Waiting in line with my Human Development friends.  We weren't the closest friends, but we all had classes together and experienced the same grueling research papers and exams...so sharing that moment was priceless.
1. Walking into Beasley Coliseum and furiously texting Casey and my family asking them where they were at.  The feeling I had when I finally saw them waving vigorously at me in the crowd of hundreds of people is one that I'll never forget.  They looked so proud of me, and I was proud to call them mine.  I think I even teared up a little bit.

Thanks again everyone for making it so unforgettable :)