Crafting a New Lens:

A Reflection of my Internship Experience

Julieze Benjamin

Arlington County is a very affluent and thriving city located in Northern

Virginia. The Arlington Public Schools (APS) system is one of the top public
school systems in the country, and it provides excellent resources for its
students to excel in the system. Over the years, Northern Virginia has
become one of the most diverse cities in the country. In the 1980s APS
created the Office of Minority Achievement to offer Black students the
necessary resources and guidance to excel. Today, in 2016, the Office of
Minority Achievement provides resources to all students of racial minority
background. The department provides resources to students and parents,
while also providing resources to teachers to help support minority students
to their highest potential. When presented the opportunity to Intern with the
Office of Minority Achievement this past March, I was more than happy to
accept the position. Ms. Leslie Stockton, the minority achievement
coordinator, told me I would be working with high school students between
two schools: Washington-Lee High School and Yorktown High School.
Because I had completed my student teaching at a middle school, I thought
this would be a good opportunity to work with another age group. I also took
delight in this internship because of the public speaking and interpersonal

exposure I have already received in my communication courses. This

internship turned out to be a perfect precursor to starting my masters
program in student affairs. What I ended up gaining from the experience is
the chance to create impactful relationships and developing long-lasting
memories.
Throughout this internship with the Office of Minority Achievement I
developed and refined my interpersonal skills, counseling skills, and
instructional delivery skills. Interpersonal communications is something that
is covered in the classroom within the Communication Arts curriculum. With
this internship I learned the meaning of empathy and active listening.
Moreover, I learned that as an educator I must listen to students and
understand their story before a student can be judged by letters on a piece
of paper (i.e. their transcript). When I first started talking to students I would
jump right into talking about the International Baccularte (IB) program or the
Advance Placement (AP) program with students. I found that this strategy
turned students off and Mr. James Sample, my supervisor at Washington-Lee,
encouraged me to listen to students first and let them get to know who I am
as an older figure who made it and matriculated successfully through APS.
I practiced my counseling skills from the one-on-ones I held with the
students on a regular basis. Through the act of counseling I learned to meet
students where they are and how to provide the resources they need to be
successful. From the one-on-ones I also learned about Dream Students and
the resources they may need to be successful in higher education. Lastly, I

perfected my craft in instructional delivery. While working at Yorktown High

school I worked with a group called SOAR. SOAR stands for Successful,
Opportunities, And Results Students. While working with this group I was
given the autonomy to teach individual lessons, and have an underlying
message within each lesson. The underlying messages consisted on topics
of identity, uniqueness, and expectations for self, and forward thinking. With
the SOAR students I was able to teach across cultures. The SOAR program is
for minority students, but the students represented all different cultures and
ethnicities. Having the privilege to be a part of the students; learning and
growth was very valuable. Even after learning and practicing these skills I
learned a lot about myself through daily experiences, which was something I
never considered.
What I grasped from this internship is that much learning is two
directional. Students at the high school level do bring something to the table.
Washington-Lee high school and Yorktown high school are primarily an
institution comprised of students from middle-class to upper middle class
backgrounds. Some of the students I worked with were at-risk and
unfortunately get lost in the population of the school. At Washington-Lee and
also Yorktown minority students can easily slip through the cracks of the
education system. While working with these students some of their ideas
and perceptions were truly innovative and inspiring. An example I
experienced is having the opportunity to sit on a meeting with the student
leaders of Latinas Leading Tomorrow at Yorktown High school. In

attendance to this meeting was the chair of the non-profit organization.

Hearing the students articulate their insights and feedbacks to the chair was
a gratifying. These students were able to articulate why they needed this
organization at their high school and how they have been able to bridge gaps
with the organizations resources.
Unfortunately because of Americas education system, the spark and
drive for being innovative is snuffed out by the heavy focus on testing. When
I was in school, testing was not at the forefront of being a good student.
Rather, being a good, well-rounded student mattered more than test scores.
Throughout my internship I observed the levels of pressure students felt
believing that the number awarded on a test was a representation of their
intelligence, which says a lot about the messages that are being given to
students.
To the students I interacted with, I stressed the importance of being the
best you. I explained that being the best you involves learning ones
academic strengths and also understanding ones academic challenges or
areas of improvement. Being knowledgeable about these two dimensions will
give students the insights they need to be successful. What surprised me
most in my six weeks of working with students was my ability to talk, relate,
and make connections with the students. Once I fully understood my
capabilities I knew I was going to be successful in student affairs.

Student affairs is a vast career field, and the common denominator

within all the departments is the goal to help students in any way possible.
This internship experience was better than I could have ever expected. The
experience was reflective, liberating, assuring and lastly inspiring. There was
never a day that I did not learn something new about myself. The first day
my supervisor explained to me the only way to excel in this field is by
changing my lensto recognize my lens coming from an upper middle class
family and my biases based on my experiences at Washington-Lee four
years ago. He said once you change your lens, you will be able to understand
the students better, and instead of asking why you will be asking how;
how can I provided them with the resources they need to excel in school.
Working at Yorktown High School with the SOAR students increased my
self-efficacy in teaching and helping students learn about their identity. Upon
facilitating the step-to-the line activity with the SOAR students and a followup discussion, I was assured that just cultivating a space for students to talk
about different situations and concerns is liberating for them. One student
named Sydney said that the activity let her know that she was not the only
person going through the feelings and thoughts alone. Hearing her say that
reassured me that this was a field I wanted to be in. Last but not least the
internship was inspiring. My internship was inspiring not only because of the
students but also because of my supervisors and the other faculty members.
Mr. Sample and Mrs. Benites truly set an example of what it means to care
and to be an advocate for a student population. These two individuals gave

me the inspiration I needed to press on into my future career. How to be

intentional and deliberate when working with students to see them excel.
One of my most memorable experiences from this internship was
working with a student named JaMeshia. JaMeshia is a rising senior at
Washington-Lee high school, and I had the pleasure of hearing her story
along with her academic aspirations. JaMeshia is a strong academic student
who continued to excel even during her pregnancy half way throughout the
school year. With this student, Mr. Sample wanted me to focus on some of
the activities she participated in that were concerning. JaMeshia hung out
with a new group of girls, who were not the best influence on her. JaMeshia
shared stories of situations that she was involved in from being acquainted
with this new group. After hearing JaMeshias stories I expressed to her the
concerns I had in her participating in these activities and what kind of role
model she was becoming for her baby. After some time she expressed to me
that she felt like society had labeled her as a teen mom. Furthermore, she
felt that she should just live up to that standard since everyone expected her
to fail. Hearing JaMeshia express these feeling truly hit a soft spot.
Internalizing the societal expectations can be detrimental for a young girls
development.
After getting through the stories I asked JaMeshia what she wants to do
after high school. She stated that one day she wants to be a doctor, and that
she enjoys the forensic science program taught at the county career center. I
used the information JaMeshia provided to encourage her to hold on to her

dreams and aspirations. We discussed how she is already in advance classes

and that she needs to continue on her upward trajectory. At the end of our
discussion I asked JaMeshia to bring me her anticipated class schedule for
next year within the next two days. I also encouraged JaMeshia to write an
affirmation on a sticky note that she could post somewhere that is visual.
Affirmations are constant reminders of what ones goals, desires, and dreams
are. What made this situation a proud moment was that the next day
JaMeshia brought me a schedule she wrote out and the affirmation she wrote
on a post-it-note. With JaMeshia taking the time out to participate in my
suggestion and then to follow up with me made a world of difference.
JaMeshia was not the only student I had special moments with but she was
the student that showed me that I want to work with young girls and provide
mentorship to them.
Within any experience there are always highs and lows. During my
internship there was one particular time that I was disappointed in myself.
When working between two high schools, sometimes I would spend more
time at a particular one because of a project I was working on during that
week. During this particular week the SOAR students had their final exam
presentation and Washington-Lee also was hosting their end-of-the-year
cookout. For Washington-Lee I was responsible for printing out the
certificates for the students that would be present during the ceremony. The
day before I spent quite a bit of time with students and pushed off the
certificates to the morning. Because I pushed the certificates off till the

morning, I ran late for the presentations that were being given by the SOAR
students at Yorktown High school. In my tardiness I ended up missing three
presentations out of fifteen. I felt terrible for letting students down and also
myself. Time management is a skill that I continue to grow in and master
every day. This situation showed me that waiting until the last minute can
unfortunately affect something else important that needs to be done.
Even though I had my moment when I was disappointed in myself, I
used that moment to fuel the rest of my internship for the better. Oliver
Wendell Holmes Jr. says, A mind that is stretched by a new experience can
never go back to its old dimensions. This internship has stretched me more
than I believed I could be stretched. I learned through my experiences with
my students but especially through my interactions with my supervisors. As
previously discussed Mr. Sample and Mrs. Benites were very influential but at
Washington-Lee I had very deep interactions with other staff members. In the
counseling department there were two women, Ms. Heather Mizell and Ms.
Juanice Jenksins. These women set an example and held a high expectation
for me. I knew Ms. Mizell through my time at Washington-Lee as a student,
and through this experience she provided me with the same encouragement
and advice but as a colleague. Even observing her interactions with students
and specifically the young women, I admired her poise and confidence with
the students. I met Ms. Jenkins through my time at Washington-Lee and the
relationship that we developed was beneficial on a professional and personal
level. I appreciated her commitment to my success as a young women

entering education. Through this experience another participant in my

support system was Ms. Leslie Stockton. Even though I was not able to work
with Ms. Stockton directly, any observations and departmental questions I
had she offered me with all the insight I needed. Ms. Stockton encouraged
me to go outside the box and to push for the things I believe are important
for students to understand and internalize. The saying goes, It takes a
village to raise a child, and I believe these individuals through my six weeks
helped me to develop as a young educator ready to take on the world
through education.
Reflecting across the past six weeks I would not change this internship
opportunity, because of the knowledge, wisdom, and experience I obtained
working through the Office of Minority Achievement. Before receiving this
internship I had already been through several different interviews across the
country at institutions like Texas A&M, UC Berkley, and North Carolina State.
These were opportunities that I truly wanted but were not able to receive.
Upon taking the internship with OMA, I thought it would be easy because it
was familiar space. The six weeks of pouring myself into students and
colleagues pouring their wisdom into me proved me wrong. This internship
showed me that the grade level and age of a student does not matter. When
working with students it is about the space and opportunity you create to
make an impact and create memories. Now I understand why
Communication arts puts an emphasis on internships, they are an
opportunity where one can truly discover who they are and what impact they

want to make. My internship was an experience I will always treasure while

continuing through my academic journey.