Modern Languages and Literatures
Working in the Community: Internships and More
Get out and get involved in the community! Whether through service learning, internships, or volunteering, you can...
- Learn in an environment different from the classroom and get hands on experience
- Spend time in an actual workplace setting
- Work with the community at large
- Develop language comprehension and speaking abilities
- Improve cultural understanding
About me:
My name is Ali McNulty and I am a junior at Grand Valley majoring in Psychology and Spanish. I am in my sixth semester of Spanish language study. When I first started at Grand Valley I had no idea that students could participate in learning activities outside of the university, such as internships and service learning projects for credit. Then in one of my classes a professor mentioned that as language students there is a class option, SPA 399 or Independent Study, in which one can do exactly this. I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and now I want to share my experience.
My internship:
My internship for the Winter 2011 semester took place at the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan located at 1204 Grandville Ave. SW Grand Rapids. The center provides a number of services to the Hispanic population in the region. Assistance is offered to the Hispanic and surrounding community of West Michigan in the form of adult education and employment, family case management, family violence intervention, and immigrant rights advocacy. One particular program the center offers is the Supporting Our Leaders (SOL) program which works with about 150 youth annually to strengthen families and reduce youth violence by providing meaningful educational and cultural enrichment opportunities. Specific services include GED classes, after-school tutoring, summer learning opportunities, specialized college visits, Cuídate (Hispanic culturally based HIV/AIDS prevention curriculum ), employability skills and financial literacy training, leadership development, service learning projects, school attendance and grade monitoring, fun fieldtrips and family engagement activities such as monthly parent meetings, home visits and chaperon opportunities for parents on fieldtrips. SOL also provides financial support for college books, driver’s license, interview attire, transportation and occupational skills training. SOL has two certified gang specialists on staff to offergang awareness trainings to the broader community and intervention services for youth wanting a better life. I worked within this specific program as the Parent Engagement Coordinator. My responsibilities included any number of tasks to keep parents updated on any major events and to get them engaged and involved in their youth's lives. The day to day there varied quite a bit, but a large part of my time was spent organizing parent meetings. These meetings provide information and support to parents, educating them on a huge variety of topics, including early intervention for gang behaviors, discipline tactics like positive reinforcement, and involvement and success in education. I sent out invitation letters, created flyers, made phone calls both to invite and thank for attendance, and arranged food and child care in both English and Spanish. Furthermore, I was in contact with parents frequently about other activities such as social justice marches, conferences about women’s issues, and youth academic progress.
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What I learned:
- What it is actually like working day to day at a non-profit organization
This was incredibly beneficial for me. I personally hate to make big decisions, like what my career will be, without knowing what the experience will bring. It was invaluable to be able to spend three days a week working in an organization in terms of career decisions. I really got a better feel for what it was like in the workplace than I ever did in a class.
- Confidence in speaking with native speakers
Until I had this experience I felt very uncomfortable speaking with native speakers. Classroom conversations weren't a breeze, but I certainly had a decent level of confidence with them. On the other hand, speaking with someone who really knew the language was nerve racking and stressful. I did not get a whole lot of practice speaking Spanish because the majority of the employees primarily spoke English to me, but I still made some improvements. For example, on my very first day, I made phone calls speaking totally in Spanish with native speakers. I was so incredibly nervous I practiced with one of the workers before I would call anyone and took as much time as possible in dialing the phone numbers just to postpone it a little bit more. Now, I call all sixty or so families with much more confidence. And this was just from making calls about twice a month.
- Patience and flexibility
I am a person that needs a schedule to function and I more or less dislike ambiguity. The setup of my internship was quite different from what I normally prefer. I could arrive and have no idea what I would be working on that day. At first this was quite stressful for me, but over time I learned to just go with the flow. In general, I learned that not every situation can be exactly what you want and that life means not your every wish is met, but quite often these are the situations that help you grow the most.
- Better understanding of the Hispanic population of Grand Rapids
Just from being surrounded by the population on a daily basis I got a taste of the culture and the challenges that Hispanics face. I was presented with the difficulties of their language barrier every day, immigration tragedies, and the dangers of gang violence. Furthermore, I saw the incredible time and effort that the employees put forth to try and better the situation. I swear my boss, Stacy Stout, never stopped moving. Overall, it was a window into the lives of others.
Additional benefits:
- More prepared to enter job search upon graduation
Internships and service learning projects are diversifying experiences. Oftentimes it is such experiences that actually give people the edge and eventually leads to their hire. Specifically in terms of internships, the practical knowledge is awesome, and it provides experience that can be added to a resume.
- Extended contacts
Getting out of the classroom and working with others it is impossible not to get to know more people. In my case I was introduced to a psychologist that works with the Hispanic population and may even research with him in the future. I would have never even known that the type of research he conducts existed if not for my internship. This is just one example, but in every situation, the more people you know the more opportunities you have.
- Scholarships
Scholarships are available to students participating in internships just for doing so. The link below is for just one provided by Grand Valley.
Furthermore, there are numerous private and government scholarships offered to students doing internships. Below are a few sites where you can create profiles and be matched to the scholarships you apply for or can just browse what's out there. Additionally, they give information about internships available to students.
- Greater cultural awareness
I want to first of all clarify that I absolutely love classroom learning. I am the most at home in the university setting and I would probably be a student the rest of my life if I could. Despite that, there are seriously some things you just cannot learn in a classroom. There is so much to be gained from working among and spending time with native Spanish speakers in the community. You can read all you want about cultural differences, but you really learn what culture is and how it is so intertwined with language through experience. It helps also in understanding your own culture and what makes you the person you are. Finally, it demonstrates that despite cultural differences, we are all humans, and as such, have uncountable similarities as well. Overall, people are people everywhere you go.
- All this plus class credit!
Others' Experience:
Brian Hackert
Brian graduated from Grand Valley in 2007 with a B.A. is Spanish and a minor in Political Science. He is currently working as a substitute Spanish teacher in a variety of capacities. During his time at Grand Valley Bryan volunteered with the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan in thein youth program preceding the newly renamed SOL program.
I worked mostly with Gerry Aguilar, helping at the front desk, helping put on events, including coordination and set-up, and data entry. Being a non-traditional student working toward a second bachelor's my volunteering at the Hispanic Center was an excellent opportunity. It gave me a great appreciation for cultural sensitivity and more awareness. It contributed to my overall experience and ability as a Spanish teacher. It allowed me to meet a number of people, gave me more contacts in the Hispanic community, and provided me a wider base in experience.
The experience allowed me more practice, and as I was always looking for opportunities, it was another one. Also, it fostered an awareness that people appreciate when others reach out to them; it forms a bridge between the two cultures. Furthermore, I was constantly picking things up, especially with the wide variety of cultures that make use of the services the center provides. I learned more about word usage and culture comes through in general as well. Finally I realized the challenges that Hispanic youth face, especially their high-risk for dropping out.
Overall, my volunteering increased my appreciation for Hispanic culture, allowed to learn more about it, and shaped the way that I think. It made more me more aware and more compassionate. I provided me with an opportunity to get know more Hispanics and to continue to work on my Spanish skills as well as contributed to my desire to move abroad.
Brian also spent a year in the Dominican Republic teaching English to girls living in a home for displaced young women.
Upon my arrival I was considered an outsider by everyone and I had to work to build confianza. Once I built trust with girls and director I was let into their lives. I then had a greater ability to experience the culture, for example I was able to attend a Quincinera and a 1st communion. It was very rewarding to be able to do something selflessly and help those that are underpriveledged. Also, it was inspiring to see how happy they are. They have little compared to us and are very poor, but happier.
My advice for Grand Valley Students: La tertulia. Go every week. Attend as many Hispanic events as possible. Read in Spanish. Take every opportunity you can to speak. Study abroad, it's a growing life experience and so mind opening and helps in dealing in all sorts of situations. Furthermore, study abroad-great for employers because you go out of your comfort zone.
Lyssa Auton
Lyssa is a junior at Grand Valley studying Spanish as well as Public and Non-profit administration and plans to graduate in April of 2012. Since she started at Grand Valley she has done an internship at a non-profit organization called Voces, a community resource that provides a number of services including medical interpretation, support for detainees and their families, and events such as health fares. Furthermore, she is on the planning committee for the Plaza Comunitaria which works to provide adult education to Latinos without a primary or secondary education and allows them to learn in an environment suited to their needs, such as online, at their own personal pace, and in Spanish and she also volunteered with with "Un Techo para Chile," working to build emergency housing following the earthquake in February of 2010.
A typical day at Voces for me included answering phones, scheduling, meeting with community members, and collaboration on administrative care- really assessing what we were doing and what needed to be done. This taught me so much about the professional world. I was able to write grants, which was great. With grant writing you just have to be able to do it, it's such a trial and error process, so any experience is invaluable. Furthermore, I learned to be more self-motivated and organized and my communication skills really increased.
Voces affected my speaking in Spanish a TON. I was forced to speak, often speaking for three hours at a time about specific topic. On top of it, the people I was translating for were dependent on me. All of it really made me learn more quickly. I also studied abroad in Chile where I was also forced to speak Spanish on a daily basis and it's incredible how much better I got with the language.
My experience getting to know the Hispanic population through Voces definitely gave me more of an understanding. Specifically, it put a face to illegal immigration. It gave me a chance to understand the families, their history, and why they did what they did. For example, the dad of one of the families we worked with was detained after he was pulled over for some minor traffic infraction. Because the mom was undocumented as well I took the children to visit their dad. It was heartbreaking to see the kids so confused about why their dad was in jail when they couldn't understand why. It was a really eye opening experience.
Overall, my experience has made me much more compassionate and understanding. I have learned to be much more laid back and have grown a lot.
My advice for Grand Valley students: Do an internship. Go abroad. Get out. Know people. Do something for someone else. I have found that I am the happiest when I am helping others.
Christine Baker
Christine graduated from Grand Valley in December of 2010 with a major in Sociology and Spanish. She plans to obtain a Master's degree in Social Work and will be attending the University of Michigan beginning fall of 2011. She is currently involved with the Maternal Infant Health department of Cherry Street Health Services. While at Grand Valley she did an internship through the Spanish department at Catholic Charities of West Michigan in the immigration and advocacy department. Below you can find an interview (in both Spanish and English) where she shares about her experience.
Interview with Christine Baker on Vimeo.
Resources to get involved:
The process of finding an internship can be quite overwhelming. This provides a great list of ideas on how to start the process, from calling companies to attending career fares to just talking to the people you know.
This link offers some sites to start the search for an internship.
Agencies involved with the Hispanic population you might consider!
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American Red Cross Language Bank
Arbor Circle Counseling Center
Diocese of Grand Rapids
Clínica Santa María
Goodwill Industries
Heartside Clinic of Saint Mary’s
Hispanic Center of Western Michigan
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Hispanic Ministry Office of the Catholic Church
Latin American Service
Latino Coalition
Mel Trotter Ministries *Both Parties by Jessica Ann and Voices for Health are for profit organizations and as such may be more suitable for business majors or related fields. |
Mi Raza
Michigan Migrant Legal Assistance Project (free legal aide to migrant farm workers under poverty line, labor law, housing, consumer law, civil rights – no family or criminal law)
PARA/Bethany Christian Services
Parties by Jessica Ann
Programa Puente (Latino Network)
Project Rehab Hispanic Residential Program
Roosevelt Park Ministries
Sparta Migrant Services & Community Education
Villa Esperanza
Voices for Health, Inc. |
Going home for the summer but still want to get involved? Some agencies outside of Grand Rapids include...
Christo Rey Community Center
1717 N. High Street
Lansing, MI 48906
517.372.4700
Spanish Speaking Information Center
901 Chippewa Street
Flint, MI 49503
810.239.4417
Diocese of Saginaw- Hispanic Ministries Center
5800 Weiff Street
Saginaw, MI 48603
989.747.6646
After you find an organization to work with,
And you want to register for SPA 399, all you have to do is find a professor to supervise your project and fill out the proposal form which can be picked up at the Modern Languages and Literatures office in Mackinac, B-2-243. If your project is approved you can register! Your professor can give you information about what is required for the number of credits you want. Professors that supervise internships include
Mayra Fortes,
Natalia Gómez,
Zulema Moret,
and Michael Vrooman.
You can also contact the Spanish coordinator Laura Fox.
Even if an internship or long term project doesn't fit into your schedule there are plenty of ways to get involved in the community, like...
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Attending Church in Spanish
Emanuel Hispana CRC
Esperanza Covenant Church
Grand Rapids First
Iglesia Alas de Aguila
Iglesia Central Hispana de Grand Rapids
Iglesia de Dios Nueva Jerusalén
Iglesia Evangelica de Restauración ELIM
Iglesia La Luz Del Mundo
Iglesia Nueva Esperanza
Resurrection Life Full Gospel
Roosevelt Park Community CRC
St. Andrew’s Cathedral (Catholic)
St. Joseph the Worker (Catholic) Shopping at a Spanish bookstore
Bishop Baraga Bookstore
Casa del Cristiano
CRC Publications
Kregel Bookstore Editorial Portavoz Reading a Spanish newspaper
El Hispano News
El Vocero Hispano
Lazo Cultural |
Or listening to Spanish radio
WMUK FM 102.1
WNWZ AM 1410
WMFN AM 640 Even eating at a Hispanic restaurant
Acapulco Restaurant
Alma Latina Restaurant
Beltline Bar
El Arriero
El Azteca Restaurant
El Sol Azteca Mexican Cuisine
El Sombrero Restaurant
La Cantina Mexican Restaurant
La Mexicana Bakery
Little Mexico Café
Maggie’s Kitchen
Sanchez, A Tapas Bistro
Santo Domingo Restaurant And shopping at a Hispanic store
El Matador Tortilla Factory
Felix and Sons Market
La Familia Stop-N-Shop
La Favorita Tortillería
LA Principal Foods
La Vencedora
Mercado El Latino
Moctezuma Foods Inc.
Santo Domingo Grocery
Supermercado Guadalajara
Supermercado México
Supermercado Roosevelt
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The benefits of an internship are unbelievable and I hope you consider doing one! The most important thing is to get out there and experience the Spanish speaking world around you in any way you can. You may learn more than you'd expect.
Contact Information:
If you have absolutely any questions for me, want more information on my experience or internships in general you can email me at mcnultya@mail.gvsu.edu.
If you are interested in information the other experiences detailed here you can contact Brian, Lyssa, and Christine at bhack2@hotmail.com, autonl@mail.gvsu.edu, and bakechri@mail.gvsu.edu, respectively.
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