The opportunity to full on teach and experience working in a school environment
What I wish was different
Higher pay but homestays were available for free
Advice
Be prepared to work really hard and develop as an educator.
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College Support Intern
June - August 2019 • San Juan Capistrano, CA
What I liked
My experience this summer with BTSJC was like no summer I've had before. Being able to return to the community that raised me and a program that helped mold me into the student and person I am was always going to be comfortable. However, taking on the role of leading my own branch of this program was so much more rewarding than I could have imagined. Helping students be more prepared than I was for college felt like I was setting them up for success, just how this program had done for me. I will take away so many positive experiences from my time there, and I have also created the foundation for this program to grow and expand using the pillars I created.
What I wish was different
I worked alongside another student (from UC Merced), and unfortunately, we had some disagreements in the way we went about communicating information to the students. I wish we had more time to discuss and plan out the presentations we gave because she was missing a lot of the time and the time we did have together was not very productive. What ended up happening was that I made entire presentations alone and she would make edits that she felt necessary and I would be caught off guard in the middle of a presentation to 15 or more students.
Advice
The one piece of advice I would share would be to make sure that whoever has this position connects to the rest of the staff, teachers, and students. I learned so much about what to include in my presentations by talking to people who have no idea about college, are in college and have long graduated from college. Wisdom and experience are everywhere, and I think that taking advantage of that was one of the best things I did during my time at BTSJC.
