Sabrina Kaplan, a student at HVCC, will be graduating in the spring with an AAS in Human Services, and has been interning at CEO this fall. Sabrina says she would love to be a therapist, and that for a long time her goal has been to work with the eating disorder population, but after working at CEO and getting exposed to more populations she’s considering other areas of mental health as well. Sabrina was nice enough to sit down and answer a few questions about her experience interning at CEO for others who might be interested in the future.
How long have you been interning with us?
Since September, I’ve been coming twice a week for four hours a day, eight hours a week. I will be helping through the end of the semester in December.
What have been some of your tasks or projects you’ve worked on?
I have worked on a lot of programs so far, right now majority of my responsibilities have been data input. I’ve worked on a lot of forms with the Thanksgiving Baskets program coming up and emails and spreadsheets to support that. I’ve also been helping with the Mom Starts Here baby closet, and helping with the coat distribution project by organizing coats and doing inventory, as well as pitching in at the food pantry when it’s needed. I also helped organize some school supplies for college students earlier this fall when we were doing that program.
Of the programs you’ve helped with, what has been your favorite?
Being able to help the parents at Mom Starts Here. The baby closet gives them the freedom to independently pick out what they want. It’s rewarding to see them face-to-face and to help them shop.
They can get a variety of sizes of diapers, wipes, clothing, sleepers, onesies, bibs, toys, etc. So it’s fun to shop because of the variety.
Can you tell us a little bit more about how interning at CEO has broadened your horizons?
Before I came here, I was very narrow minded on what human services was, but I didn’t know all the different resources that came with social services. I didn’t realize how many populations I could help, or all the programs that fell under that umbrella, I just thought that there was only one way to help but there are so many different ways.
Would you recommend interning with CEO?
Yes, it’s a great way to get your feed wet and meet people and to see all the different ways that you can help. I got to see different paths that I can take in the future.
The work is also very rewarding. Even though I’m just an intern, and maybe a small part, it felt like it could just be overlooked but I’ve gotten a lot of opportunities here.
If interning with CEO sounds like something that might be a good fit for you, reach out to us through the volunteer form on our website.
