Week of 9/11- 11 hours
Week of 9/18- 11 hours
I am entering my third week interning at Compeer of Greater Buffalo. Compeer is a noun that means peer or friend. When I first arrived at the office and started my interview I looked at the program as something that resembles a Big Brother, Big Sister program. Compeer matches up volunteers with a child, adult, or senior striving for optimal mental health and a high quality of life. The interview process was two hours long and I was questioned on a broad range of topics. The interview process is very in depth in order to make the best possible match between a mentor and mentee.
There are many steps to becoming a mentor so I have not yet been matched with one of the 400+ individuals on the waiting list (waiting for a mentor). My application process is close to being completed and I am excited to be matched up with a new friend!
So far, I have been working in the office as an intern doing basic intern tasks. I have been making phone calls, sending out letters, recruiting volunteers, etc. I enjoy the atmosphere of the office and it is obvious that the employees love what they do and are excited about the ways they help the community. I have also been attending the Second Step program Thursday nights that my supervisor teaches to children in the Buffalo community. I think that the program is really interesting and something that is very beneficial to the youth of Buffalo. At the first meeting, we had 3 children in attendance with either their mother or mentor. This past week, two of the children did not show up and are no longer taking the class so we are going to continue with the one child we still have. The class covers a broad range of topics and takes 8 weeks to complete. This past week we focused on empathy and recognizing what other people are experiencing. In Developmental Psychology we discussed the effects that demographics have on the development of a child. It was interesting to see how my answers differed from the answers of the girl in the class. I was raised in the suburbs and she has grown up in the city, this different background made our answers differ greatly and we have different viewpoints on the situations we discuss.
9/27So far, I have been working in the office as an intern doing basic intern tasks. I have been making phone calls, sending out letters, recruiting volunteers, etc. I enjoy the atmosphere of the office and it is obvious that the employees love what they do and are excited about the ways they help the community. I have also been attending the Second Step program Thursday nights that my supervisor teaches to children in the Buffalo community. I think that the program is really interesting and something that is very beneficial to the youth of Buffalo. At the first meeting, we had 3 children in attendance with either their mother or mentor. This past week, two of the children did not show up and are no longer taking the class so we are going to continue with the one child we still have. The class covers a broad range of topics and takes 8 weeks to complete. This past week we focused on empathy and recognizing what other people are experiencing. In Developmental Psychology we discussed the effects that demographics have on the development of a child. It was interesting to see how my answers differed from the answers of the girl in the class. I was raised in the suburbs and she has grown up in the city, this different background made our answers differ greatly and we have different viewpoints on the situations we discuss.
6hrs
Today I went in to Compeer from 1:30 to 7:30pm. My supervisor had me call the parents and therapists of a list of children on our waiting list to receive missing information from their applications. I was given a stack of packets that included a lot of information about each child. The packets were missing information such as the childs diagnosis, therapists information, current addresses, etc. Although the task was simple, it was really interesting to see each childs story on paper. Many of the children who are recommended to compeer are lacking social skills and therefore need a mentor to bring them out of their shell. It was interesting to see in detail that many of these children may appear to be normal without any difficulties but they have a diagnosis which prevents them from reaching a higher level.
This assignment reminded me of my cultural psychology class. We discussed different perceptions across cultures and how different individuals perceive the same situation differently. To an outsider, this child may seem "weird" or "lazy" but to his mentor he may be "unique".
9/29
3hrs
I completed the training program for mentors today. The training took 3 hours to complete and included videos, role plays, and general information on how to be a good mentor. We learned the types of diagnosis our mentee may have, techniques on how to handle certain situations, etc. We learned how to deal with parents and families who may not be supportive of our mentee. One of the most interesting things I found in the training was the emphasis on letting the child accomplish things on their own. My supervisor described a scenario in which you are in a dark room with your mentee and they are trying to find the light switch. You know where the light switch is but you do not verbally tell them, instead you shine a flashlight on the light switch and let them go from there. Ultimately, as a mentor, I will be the biggest help to my mentee by simply being their guiding light. Instead of giving them the answers to questions I may have a simple solution for, I need to guide them on the right track to figuring it out on their own.
10/4
3.5hrs
I went into Compeer 1:30-5pm today. My supervisor assigned me to calling children on the waiting list to see if they are still interested in the program. An issue that Compeer is often faced with is the lack of communication at times between families and the program. A lot of the children in the program live in low income homes and are often hard to reach because their parents have prepaid phones which are temporarily disconnected. A few of the parents I spoke with were no longer interested in the program as they had been matched up with mentors through school. A lot of the parents I spoke with were very interested in keeping their children on the waiting list and wanted an estimated time on when their child would be matched up with a mentor. It was inspiring to see the need and realization that these parents have about their child needing a mentor.
My supervisor informed me that my application process if finally on track and that she is ready to match me up with a mentee. She mentioned that she can match me up with an adult in my hometown or a teen in Buffalo. I told her that I am more interested in being matched up with a teen and she said that she is ready for us to meet on Tuesday. I’m really nervous to meet her for the first time and to begin the mentor-mentee relationship. I am worried that our personalities will not match up enough to get along well on a deep friend level. My supervisor has reassured me that they will help through every stage of the relationship.
10/7
6hrs
I went into the office today from 1:30-7:30pm. I continued my previous task, calling people who were on the waiting list to see if they are still interested in the program. I stayed until 7:30 because we had our second step class again. This time, only one girl attended with her compeer friend. The others who had been in the first class did not show up and informed us that they were no longer interested. Because the class is now so small, we gave the student the option of continuing or starting up again when the class is offered in January. She told us that she wanted to continue so we finished the class. This class focused on anger and how to deal with situations in which there is a confrontation. We did some role play situations on how to handle confrontation with various types of people (strangers, friends, family).
10/10
3.5hrs
My supervisor had me work on shredding the old files of previous Compeer volunteers. In between shredding the boxes full of old files I made some phone calls to families who have completed previous second step programs. I asked these families if they would be interested in completing the third level of the program and helped to sign them up.
10/13
3.5hrs
During the afternoon I completed some simple office tasks, making phone calls and shredding paper. I was informed that we are no longer conducting the second step class because there is only one student and she is willing to wait until January when we have a large class size to complete the program. At 5pm we left the office and I followed my supervisor to meet my match at her home. I need to be careful about what I share through this process because some of the situations that Compeer encounters are not things that need to be shared with other people. I was extremely nervous going to my match's house but once we got there her family counselor was there and made me feel more comfortable because she bridged the gap between me and the family. My match's mother was concerned because she had requested that her daughter be matched with someone who is over the age of 25 and I am only 21. We assured her that I am committed to the Compeer program and will be a good match for her daughter. We went over the rules and guidelines of the Compeer relationship together and set up a time to start meeting.
10/15
3hrs
I met with my match for the first time today. I picked her up from her home and we went to Tim Hortons for some coffee and to get to know each other. I had hoped that we would be able to laugh and joke around and that we would both be comfortable by the end of the day but as with every new kind of relationship the first time meeting can be awkward. We managed to get past the awkwardness and really get to know a lot about each other. We talked about school, our families, what we like to do, etc. We also talked about the things that we would both be interested in doing on our future outings. Overall, the day went really well and we decided to start meeting once a week on Saturdays.
10/18-10/20
8 hours
My supervisor had me call families who had completed the second step level 1 or 2 program last week to see if they would be interested in the level 3 program. The program starts next week so this week when I went in from 1:30-5pm each day, I worked on compiling the workbooks for the course. Although my supervisor already had an instructors manual for reference she asked me to compile a couple of homework assignments for some of the lessons. I did a lot of photocopying and organizing this week but I am happy to help out as I know that the workbooks are for a good program that will change the lives of some of the youth around Erie County.
10/25
3.5hrs
My supervisor has myself and another intern working on a project for her. We are given a pile of "surveys" for each individual who has a mentor through the Compeer program. These surveys consist of information including race, family and home structure, mental illness diagnosis, cash benefits, and insurance sources. I felt really uncomfortable when I looked over the blank surveys because I knew it would be awkward to ask a parent what their child's mental illness diagnosis is and if they receive cash benefits. The parents of compeer children amaze me every time I make these phone calls. Though there is an occasional individual who would rather not waste their time on the phone with me, a majority of the parents were willing to sit down and go through every question with me. The care and concern that they reveal for their children is empowering and verifies why I am volunteering through the program.
10/27
3.5hrs
My supervisor had me making follow up calls to First Niagara Bank branches in Erie County. I was able to set up meetings with two different branches. In these meetings, someone from the Compeer office presents the Compeer program to the First Niagara employees in hopes that they will be inspired to volunteer.
11/1
3.5hrs
I finished up the surveys that I was working on last week when I went into the office today. Because I only had a few to finish and my supervisor was leaving, she told me to participate in the craft activity that they were offering for adult Compeers in the office. I went into the board room and took a seat next to our receptionist and her compeer friend. We were making bracelets for the masquerade ball this weekend to raise money for Compeer. I got to talking with the two ladies on either side of me and they told me that they have been matched up for 5 years. The receptionist also has another compeer friend who she has been matched up with for 3 months. They told me some of the things that they do together and gave me some ideas on what to do with my own Compeer match. It was nice to witness Compeer volunteers and friends from the adult group interacting because I have mainly dealt with children's program during my time at Compeer. I thought about my Industrial/Organizational Psychology class and our interviewing advice segment of the course. We performed mock interviews with individuals from the career center and one of the biggest things that stuck out for me was whether the student interviewing was genuine or put up a front. It was very easy to tell when a student was trying too hard to be proper and nice. I noticed that the people at the Compeer craft activity were truly genuine and did not put up a fake persona to impress the other people at the table. I felt comfortable the minute I walked into the room and really enjoyed everyones company.
11/3
3.5hrs
I worked on various office tasks and made phone calls again for my supervisor to people on the waiting list to be matched.
11/5
3hrs
I met up with my Compeer friend today. I picked her up from her home and we drove around for awhile trying to decide what to do. We both agreed on going to the Birchfield-Penney art museum at Buffalo State College. She had never been to an art museum before and seemed really excited when I made the suggestion. We made some developments in our relationship today, laughing together at some of the racy art pieces and agreeing on how confusing some of them were to us. She is still very quiet but I can see her very slowly becoming more comfortable around me and vice versa. I have been thinking about a famous psychology experiment when I meet with my Compeer friend. Although the visual cliff experiment studied depth perception in infants, I can see a relation to the mentoring process. The mentee is very hesitant and often requires continual hoaxing to trust their mentor. Past a certain point, these mentees may never be able to trust their mentor. I hope that over time my Compeer friend will be able to trust me to the point where she will step out of her comfort zone to accept the new types of activities we do together that she would have never had the opportunity to participate in before.
11/8
3.5hrs
At first my supervisor had me working on some simple office tasks for her but then she allowed me to sit in on the activity that was occurring for the adult Compeer members. One of the staff members of Compeer makes jewelry with her mother outside of Compeer and was hosting a jewelry party in the office. Adult Compeer matches were invited to our office to make jewelry. They were allowed to keep one bracelet and every bracelet after that one was donated to Compeer to sell at a fundraiser. I sat with our receptionist and her two Compeer friends whom she has been matched with for a very long time. I talked to them about the types of things that they like to do together and how their relationship developed.
11/10
3.5hrs
The number of males that volunteer with Compeer is very slim compared to the number of boys on the waiting list to receive a male mentor. I was asked to call a handful of young boys on our waiting list and to talk to them about either staying on the waiting list to receive a mentor or to be removed from our records. Many parents are eager to have their child matched up with a mentor while others seemed to have given up on waiting for their child to be matched.
11/12
4hrs
I picked up my Compeer friend from her home and brought her back to Canisius to show her the mini zoo that the ABEC zoo bio class had created. We went through the zoo and she seemed really interested in the animals. She asked me a few questions about some of the animals and about the building of the zoo. Dr. Margulis was also at the zoo the time that we went so she told us about the personalities of the animals and the times of day that they are most active. After we walked around health science and the zoo for awhile I took her to main campus and showed her around Canisius. We went all over the campus and I showed her the club rooms and talked about the clubs I am involved with. She didn't know what student government was and said that her school doesn't have one so I explained what the club is all about to her. Sometimes I worry about the way that my relationship with my Compeer is developing. She is extremely shy and it is very rare for her to start up a conversation. I try to ask her a lot of questions to try to spark a conversation but it usually doesn't last. I get very excited when she asks me a question or tries to start a conversation. I'm slowly beginning to accept that she is a very shy individual and that I need to give her time to adjust to our new friendship.
11/15 & 11/17
8 hours
I went into the office as usual today this week Tuesday and Thursday from 1:30pm-5:30pm. I worked on a lot of office tasks this week and did not have much to report on the journal. My supervisor really didn't have a lot for me to work on so she had me sit with her while she wrote up monthly reports to therapists to keep them up to date on how their clients match was progressing.
11/19
4hrs
I wasn't sure what to do with my Compeer friend when I called her house. Her mother mentioned that she had planned on going to Wegmans that day to pick up an application so I told her that we could do that together for the day. After running some errands together, I took her to Wegmans to pick up an application but we were told to fill it out online. My Compeer friend does not have a computer at home so I offered to take her to the library to use the public computer to fill out the application. She directed me around Buffalo to find the library and we stayed there for a few hours filling out applications to various places. I was glad to help her take the next step in developing as a teenager. She may have never been able to fill out the application if we had not gone to the library together. I can tell that she is becoming more comfortable around me lately. She has been asking me more questions about myself and the things that I enjoy.
11/22-11/24
8 hours
This week I worked on putting together angel cards for my supervisor. Compeer has a program that they do every year where they write up a paragraph about each child in the organization and they list the things that the individual is interested in. For example, an Angel Card may read, "Anne is a ten year old girl who has experienced some hardships in her lifetime. After losing her mother to an illness and living without her incarcerated father, she was adopted by a loving family and is very happy. Anne is a huge fan of Justin Bieber and would love anything related to him (clothes, posters, books, etc). She also loves the color purple and would like a new set of gloves, hat, and scarf for the coming winter". I had to call each childs mentor to find out the things that they are interested in and to put together the descriptions.
11/29
4 hours
I continued working on the Angel Card project today and specifically put together index cards listing the interests of each child. Compeer receives hundreds of gifts and toys from various organizations around the city. The toys are organized in a large room into areas that are categorized; the areas include electronics, board games, health and beauty, clothing, arts and crafts, etc. The index cards are used by staff to "shop around" the gift room and to put together a gift bag that includes many items the child is interested in.
11/29-12/1 & 12/6-12/8
16 hours over 2 weeks
For the past two weeks I have helped my supervisor put together the gift bags for each child. I also helped to unload truck loads of gifts that came into the office and sorted them into their areas in the gift room. It was fun to make an index card full of items the child is interested in into an actual gift. I got to shop around the room and pick out items related to those on each card and to compile the presents. After we finished putting together all of the gift bags, I had to go through every bag a second time to make sure that all price tags were taken off items and that the children received a fair amount of items compared to one another. I am excited to go to the holiday party with my Compeer match this Sunday and am going to miss working with my supervisor and the other staff members at Compeer.
