In working at Orchard Cove, I have have gained several skills that I can employ in the future at Brandeis and in the workplace. Firstly, I have gained leadership skills. I got the chance to lead the vision board activity with four residents, and also recently had the opportunity to help organize and lead a field trip with residents to a local state park, Borderland State Park, for a tour around a famous mansion. When the tour guide unexpectedly did not show up for the tour, I was forced to make some phone calls and improvise a bit, and we ended up getting a personalized tour from one of the land maintenance workers, which ended up being a blast. These experiences have given me the chances to step up as a leader and have flexibility in running these events. I know in future positions, especially in the human services field, it is important to be flexible and to expect that things won’t always go the way as planned. I will especially use this as I continue my role as a leader of the Waltham Community Service Group Companions to Elders.
Secondly, I have found the experience of being part of a strong interdisciplinary team who cares about the residents to be very exciting. I am proud to work with a team that is countering the idea that this marginalized population should not be given the same resources and care as others of different ages. An interdisciplinary team meeting I have attended multiple times focused on discussing the wellness of individual residents and each resident’s goals and wishes. Staff present at the meeting are fitness staff, a social worker, strategic initiatives director, director of community life, etc., who each give their input on how they feel they can help the resident reach their goals. I feel like this shows how it really takes a village for things to function often times. This has shown me the importance of taking multiple viewpoints into account, really helping to see the whole person not just a small aspect of who they are. Furthermore, this idea can be taken into account when researching a topic for a project. Looking at multiple aspects of an idea before coming to a conclusion holds importance.
Every week, my supervisor leads what is called a wave training in which she teaches other staff members step by step to become vitalize coaches. Since she had never trained other staff to be coaches before, it became difficult creating steps and breaking it down for the other staff to understand. As a beginning intern who did not know all the tiny details that make up the Vitalize 360 program, I was able to look at the big picture and create an initial list of steps for the program that captured the main goals of the program. With this list, my supervisor was then able to build off of that with the details of each step, and translate that into steps to use to teach others about the program. This has been a rewarding experience knowing I can help with the process. I will utilize this idea of looking at the big picture, and breaking down steps in the future.
Working at Orchard Cove has provided me with some insight about myself. I feel more excited working directly with residents rather than spending a lot of time behind a desk in an office. I have found that I have really enjoyed the parts of the internship working directly with the residents and leading activities.