One of the requirements—and benefits—of Carroll’s Education programs is the opportunity to participate in an internship in order to earn field experience credit. Among the wonderful organizations that opens its doors to Carroll students for this is the Boys & Girls Club of Westminster (BGCW).

The BGCW offers supervised after-school programs to youth in need. Designed to enhance the development of boys and girls, these programs feature enriching activities in the areas of art, STEM, sports, leadership and more. Carroll interns assist with these activities, which in the process shape them to be more effective teachers.

“I gained reassurance in becoming an educator because of the encouragement I found there,” said Carroll student and BGCW intern Madison Lane. ”I sometimes doubt if I would be a good teacher or if kids even like me, but the kids at Boys & Girls Club made me feel respected and wanted.”

Carroll’s Education interns perform a variety of useful tasks that supplement their training to become teachers. These range from creating lesson plans and helping the kids with their schoolwork, to playing games and interacting with them during breaks.

“I really appreciate the fact that Carroll Community College gives even their first-year students amazing internship opportunities so that we will be ahead of the program,” said Madison. “I am able to take classes regarding my career very early in my education that I know some freshman at other schools haven’t had the chance to do yet.”

Carroll students who intern for organizations like the Boys & Girls Club benefit from it as much as the kids. “I’m really out of my comfort zone,” said Liz Vinson, an Education major. “I’m learning lots of skills that I didn’t have before this internship, and probably wouldn’t have learned otherwise.” One of those skills, for instance, was how to create Google classrooms to support virtual learning.

Beyond just tutoring and monitoring them, Carroll’s Education interns also make a real impact on the young people’s lives. “I felt that even in the little amount of time I was with those kids, I was making a difference,” said Carroll Elementary Education student Sarah Anderson. Physical Education and Sports Management major Mike Jones agrees: “If the right person is present being a role model, many kids will look up to them and make them a better person as well.”

For the interns, that is perhaps the most important lesson of all.