Meet Carolaan! In honor of Internship Awareness Month, we did a Q&A with Carolann Gregoire, Practicum Coordinator for the Social and Human Services program at Columbus State Community College.
Q: What is the importance of an internship?
Students in professional or technical programs need hands on, field work to practice the skills and apply the knowledge they are learning in the classroom. The experiential aspect of learning helps students identify their areas of strengths and areas of improvement.
Q: What are the main benefits both for the students and the employers?
Employers are giving back to the next generation of helpers. Social workers have a duty to help prepare upcoming members of our profession. Interns bring fresh eyes and ears to the experience. Agency staff welcome new perspectives, knowledge, and trends in practice the interns bring from the classroom.
Q: What are some of the value that interns bring to the table?
I love the passion our interns bring to the experience. Their compassion, desire to help, and nervous excitement shows us they’re making the right career choice.
Q: What feedback have you heard from your social work students after their experience doing an internship with Alvis?
What I hear most about internships at Alvis is the significant amount of time they can spend in direct client care. This aspect of practicum is crucial. We and the students are very appreciative of the ample opportunity to improve their helping skills.