Gamblest's blog

August 1st, 1966: Charles Whitmore aims his rifle over the railing of the tower’s observation deck. Classes have just let out on the campus of the University of Texas and the grounds were crawling with students and faculty. Charles Whitman, an excellent student, former marine, and once upon a time the youngest Eagle Scout in Texas, snapped. Over the next 96 minutes, Whitmore’s actions would make him a part of American History.

I have spent the majority of my time today researching play therapy and how it impacts children who have undergone traumatic experiences. I am finding a lot of really heartbreaking reports on this subject, and while they outline the success of the treatment, I am having a hard time finding the specific whys and hows. Does the child let their guard down more? Are they more open to play therapy? Is it easier to express themselves through play rather than verbalizing everything? I would assume the answer is yes to most of those questions, but I need some serious evidence to back it all up.

I am wrapping up my seventh week of my internship. I just calculated how much time I have left, and at two days a week, seven hours a day, I should be done in four-five weeks. Jeez, that makes it sound like a prison sentence. I know that a lot of my posts have been kind of down on my internship, but I really have been getting some great experience here.

Success guys! I finally scheduled a meeting with my supervisor and got him to look the work I have done so far.

Tuesday morning I timidly approached his office and knocked on his door, "Um, Bob?"
"Hey! Stephanie! Good morning!" he responded, with a bit too much enthusiasm.
"Hey, uh, good morning, Do you think you will have some time today to go over my progress with me?" There is probably a more professional way to go about asking this, but it was 9AM and I was both sleepy and nervous. Not my best.

I missed a day of interning on Tuesday because my real job needed some extra help. I have been spending today playing catch up with my report. Last week at this time I was concerned about finding time to complete a new assignment discussing why we should teach shapes to children. After meeting with Claudia, the museum’s development assistant, I found out she just wanted some sources for a grant that she would be writing. That was a bit of a relief.

Today I am wrapping up my fourth week of interning. I made a ten week commitment with my director, but I am thinking I may need to extend my stay here at the museum.

They recently gave me another assignment that pertains to a new exhibit the museum will open in the fall. For now I have kind of shelved my original assignment and shifted my focus to the importance of teaching kids shapes. Thrilling stuff, right? But it's okay, I am really learning a lot about child development and how kids process things, in addition to how to write for donors and board members.

I am currently interning with the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum as their research intern. The director has given me the task of researching how play benefits child development, with the goal of creating a booklet for the museum employees to consult when talking to parents and teachers that come to the museum. Most of my work is self-directed, but the director checks in on me at least once a day to see how it’s going. Once in a while I will seek him out to ask questions or prove to him that I am not spending the majority of my time on facebook.