From Internship To Employment

Ashley

What were some of the ideas or interests you had before coming to MAICEI that you wanted to explore for an internship? 

“In my Junior/Senior year in high school, I realized that I wanted to work with little children”

What originally interested you about your current internship placement at the Center for Early Education and Care (CEEC)?   

“When I first heard about the internship, I was excited and nervous. I knew it would be a great experience and it would help me in the future”

How long have you been interning at CEEC?     

“Since September 2018”

What are some of the responsibilities you have at CEEC? In other words, what do you do there? What are some of the skills you had to learn for your internship? These could be job specific skills you had to be trained in (how to do specific day to day duties or how to work with this age range of children) or non-job specific (sometimes called soft skills – which are general working skills such as how to work in a team or under time constraints). 

“I interact with the children I learned a lot now to speak to toddlers in a way they can understand. When I first started there, I had to learn all the CEEC rules.

• I help pass out snack
• Help wash hands
• I help them dress to go outside
• I engage with the children at circle time
• Behavior management
• Proper language with toddlers
• Good communication with co-workers and the children
• I had to learn the PVTA bus route to get there”

Can you tell us about your experiences learning these skills? In other words, were some skills easier to learn than others? Did you already know a lot of the skills needed to do this job from elsewhere?

“I do have some experience with children. When my younger brother was a newborn up till five years old, I had to take care of him a lot. In the work based learning plan there was a lot of good information that I didn’t know before. I used to role play with my Ed Coach to learn the language.”

Did you find the feedback from Leah’s MWBLP (Mass Web Based Learning Plan) helpful for doing the job?

“Yes, it showed me where I was at, what I needed to do more of and what I had succeeded at. Leah was always clear about what I needed to improve. She always gave a positive attitude and I appreciate her feedback.”

Are there any skills you learned at your internship that you use other places, like your new job? 

“My communication skills come easier in general these days.”

Have you ever used things you learned in your classes (either taken at UMass or at your high school) to help you work at CEEC?

“One thing I remember now is the safe way to put a baby down to sleep. I learned that from my Smart Start Modules. I also learned a lot from my classes too.”

Have you used things that you learned in your internship to help you in your classes? 

“Yes!”

Do you think you have grown to be more confident in your internship? 

“Yes, as an assistant teacher.”

 Would you want to do something like your internship with CEEC as a future career? Or have your career aspirations changed after working at the CEEC? Could you see yourself doing multiple part time jobs and this could be one of them?     

“I don’t know, I will see when the time comes.”

Leah Stinson – Internship Supervisor at The Center for Early Education and Care

What kinds of skills did Ashley have to learn for this internship? These skills could be either technical skills required to work at the CEEC or other soft skills. Examples of technical skills could be skills related to day to day tasks, making work related decisions or basic information on toddlers/young children. Examples of soft skills could include teamwork, problem solving or communication skills. 

 “Ashley has learned and/or enhanced a variety of skills throughout her time in our classroom. These include:

• Communicating effectively with teachers, children, and assistant teachers
• Increasing her knowledge of child development
• Learning effective language and behavior guidance strategies for toddlers
• Gaining classroom awareness and management skills
• Time management
• General housekeeping tasks”

Do you think some of these skills related to childcare and work at the CEEC are transferable or universal skills that can help Ashley in other sectors of employment such as at her current job at a local supermarket? 

“I definitely think many of the skills she uses at CEEC are transferable to other jobs. Such as:

• Interacting with customers
• Receiving and processing constructive feedback
• Housekeeping tasks
• Time management
• Following directions”

How did you support Ashley’s skill growth? 

“I support Ashley’s growth by being available via email and text in addition to our in person check-ins. I try to give constructive feedback and answer any questions that arise in the moment. I also complete mid and end of semester evaluations and give input into future goals.”

Crystal Cartwright – Transition Specialist

What about the MAICEI Program did you see an opportunity for Ashley to grow?

“Ashley joined MAICEI when she transferred to Amherst from another school district. Ashley and her team felt this would be an opportunity for her to develop her social skills, independence, self-determination skills as well as help her identify her long term career goals and take courses to assist with those.”

What were Ashley’s original career interests? How did you consider these interests when advocating for types of internships? 

“Ashley has always been interested in working with young children. She has been taking courses in education through MAICEI to assist with this goal. We chose internships based off this. She did an internship at Spring St. Pre-School for 1 year to build her foundation skills of employment as well as job specific skills of working in a daycare/pre-school setting. MAICEI was able to secure her an internship at the Toddler House, a daycare center on the UMass campus which is also directly related to her career goal of working in this type of setting.”

Which skills that Ashley is learning at the Center for Early Education and Care (CEEC) can you see helping her be more employable? 

 “The skills Ashley is learning that will assist her with any employment in her future are the basic foundation skills of employment: attendance and punctuality (requesting time off, calling out appropriately, etc.), taking constructive criticism, communication skills, motivation and initiative, working with others, etc. (basically all skills in the WBLP). She is also learning the job specific skills of working with children, creating structure and activities for them, helping with behavior management, assisting the teacher with any tasks.”

Have you seen her confidence grow in these skills?                         

“Ashley’s skills have grown tremendously through both of her internships. She has shown an improvement in all of her foundation skills of employment. She has become much more self-determined and is able to advocate her needs in terms of schedule or accommodations.”

Tell us about your transitional age program that you help run. What kinds of things happen there to help others like Ashley become prepared for the workforce?   

“Our transition program is called Connections. Through our program, students are working on transition related skills daily with self-determination being at the center. Ashley has worked on employment skills through curriculum and practice. She has worked on travel skills through a curriculum and practice and is now able to take the PVTA bus system completely independently. She has also worked on her self-determination skills by setting goals for herself, reviewing her work on her goals, and making adjustments to them if necessary. She has also increased her self-advocacy skills through our program. Ashley is able to identify her strengths and challenges and be able to share this information with employers if needed. I have attached our program description for you to see to have a better idea of what our program does! Lastly, Ashley has been completing an online course through the CEEC in order to become a certified childcare assistant. She has recently finished this course and next steps will be for her to apply to receive this credential!”

Can you talk about the integration of the career skills that Ashley learned at your program and the career skills Ashley learned at the CEEC through MAICEI? In other words, how do the skills she is learning in both settings working together to make her more employable?  Do these different skills complement each other? These skills can either be job specific or universal job skills. How did the integration of these skills help Ashley both become recently employed at a local supermarket and help her do her job? 

“Ashley stated that she would like a paid, part time job, so she can be earning money and staying busy in the evenings and weekends. She stated she is not yet ready to work in a childcare setting because she is still in school, so getting a job like [a local supermarket] is what she wanted to do at this time.  All skills developed through her internships can be generalized to any job. She is learning how to be a dependable employee and understanding the foundation skills of employment. If you look at the skills in the WBLP (work based learning plan) that Ashley has been working on through internships, you wil lee those skills are necessary for any type of employment.  We assisted her with her online application. Once she applied, I reached out to the hiring manager at [a local supermarket] who I have built a partnership with. This was helpful for Ashley because I was able to assist her with the whole hiring process. The manager was flexible in when to interview Ashley and also flexible with her orientation times and accommodations. I think Ashley could have handled all steps of the hiring process independently, but because of my relationship with the manager, this was just an extra piece in assisting Ashley with the process.  Ashley has gained so much confidence as well as employment skills through her internship which has led her to be able to apply and be hired for her position at [a local supermarket].”