Internship
For the last part of school, I was required to complete a 14 week internship. I did my internship at Maple Lake Academy (I had worked there as staff before interning). MLA is a residential treatment center for adolescent girls and boys with learning disabilities. Basically the kids all have either Non-verbal learning disorders or are on the autism spectrum. They are all high functioning and just have troubles because of their learning differences. My internship supervisor was absolutely incredible, and I couldn't have asked for a better internship. I learned a lot about myself, about becoming a Rec. Therapist, and about how to help people. I will have to write more about this at another point, but I am grateful for my internship. I miss it all the time, but am happy that I had the opportunity.
Me and my Internship Partner, Coriann
Both Erik and I have new jobs (or at least fairly new). Erik went from delivering pizza to working full time with the church on the Family History webpages in the last 7 months. If that isn't a jump, I don't know what is. It has been an amazing opportunity for him. He is being challenged to learn new things all the time, and being taught by some amazing people. He has grown and been stretched in so many ways. I am so proud of the hard work he has done. There is no doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father had a hand in getting him where he is, and that it is exactly what we needed to have happen. The church is an amazing company to work for, and we are very blessed. Erik also spent a couple of months translating from Finnish to English for American Express. It was good supplemental income while I was doing an unpaid internship, but definitely not a long term job he would like to do.
I started a new job working at Cottonwood Treatment Center. It is a Residential Treatment Center for at-risk youth. I am one of two recreation therapists that works with the kids. It is an 84 bed facility that helps treat a variety of conditions ranging from depression/suicide to schizophrenia. It can get a little bit intense sometimes, but I am enjoying it and really learning how to be a Rec. Therapist without my internship supervisor guiding me every step of the way. I feel like I am finally getting the hang of it, and I am happy to be there.
Graduation
I have officially graduated from BYU! What an exciting and crazy notion! I remember when I started college, I believed that it was something that lasted FOREVER. I was so very wrong. College went faster than I even imagined, and looking back I can only think about how much I did, didn't do, learned, and didn't learn. There is no way to accomplish everything you hope to in four years, but you walk away from the overall experience with more knowledge than you ever thought you would gain. I have made some wonderful friends, amazing connections, and been given the chance to really do something great. I am grateful for BYU and the education I was able to receive there. I learned a lot about who I am, where I am going, and how to get there.
My Family that came to support me
Me and my friends Kristin and Shayna
Well, I will update again soon on Christmas and other adventures...I just need to get my camera back from my Dad's house first :-)!
Thanks for reading!
