Welcome to the Service Learning Internship Program!

Student Handbook | Apply/Become an Intern | Find an Agency | Coursework

The Service Learning Internship Program is a 1-2 semester field experience and professional development course designed to help students develop personal and professional competencies by working with community human service organizations. Interns earn university credit for working at their placement organization and completing academic coursework that is rooted in the service learning principles of reflection, demonstration, and reciprocity. Participants are FSHD majors and minors considering careers in counseling, teaching, social services, family law, and related areas. Students are encouraged to think critically about social issues through the context of their field experience. Family Studies and Human Development students are invited to apply for internships in their junior or senior years.

By working with clients in community organizations, students learn firsthand the impacts and interactions of poverty, domestic violence, substance abuse, adolescent pregnancy, divorce, and poor health care. Students reflect on their experiences through journal writing and seminar discussions, where they describe feelings of surprise, frustration, anger, and confusion. Students note socioeconomic disparities between themselves and their clients, and openly confront their discomfort with differing cultural norms and boundaries. Interns often describe this as one of their most significant areas of growth.

Engaging in Responsible and Important Work
Experienced mentors at community partner organizations provide students with positions serving children and families in paraprofessional capacities. Interns are expected to take on increasingly responsible work during their two-semester tenure. Students commit to challenging roles that require a considerable level of independence, accountability, and professionalism. Many agencies depend on the interns to fill vital positions, such as:

• Facilitator for Children of Divorce support group
  
• Crisis intervention counselor
  
• Social worker assistant for Child Protective Services
  
• Child recreation leader
  
• Adult day care provider

Engaging in Critical Reflection
As a principle component of service learning and an essential tool for student development, interns are expected to engage in a variety of critical reflection activities, including guided journal writing, self-evaluations, seminar discussions, and one-on-one meetings with the course instructor. Students are asked to reflect upon their field experiences in the context of their academic knowledge, personal and professional growth, and their understanding of societal issues.

Enhancing Academic Work
Service learning internships are built on the academic foundation provided by the Division of Family Studies and Human Development. Students are required to complete the core elements of their curriculum before applying for the internship, as they are expected to practice skills based upon their learning. The internship facilitates a deeper understanding of academic course concepts by providing a practical lens through which to view research and theory.

Building Personal and Professional Competencies
The service learning internship encourages the development of self-confidence and a sense of professional competence through a supportive mentoring process at their placement site and at the University. Interns meet in seminar to reflect upon their learning and growth with their peers. Students are encouraged to:

• make their own choices
  
• further their education through graduate school or certificate programs in their field
  
• network with community and professional leaders
  
• take initiative in their work and in their lives
  
• become agents of change in and advocates of their own profession

Providing Critical Labor
Human service organizations in the Tucson community experience chronic staff turnover and constant budget shortfalls. High quality trained professionals are always in demand, and students can provide essential services while preparing to fill these professional roles. Community partner agencies commit to providing professional training and mentorship for service learning interns. This investment often yields fruitful returns when agencies employ their interns upon graduation.

Linking Research to Practice
In the second semester of the internship experience, students are asked to complete a project that will provide a useful resource for their placement agency. The Service Learning Coordinator, Mentor, and intern will agree on a project that will serve both the agency and the student's professional development. This project will additionally have an evaluative element so that the student can assess the impact of the project on the agency.

Encouraging Reciprocity
Students learn that not only will they benefit from the lessons that the community has to teach them, but that they can make significant contributions to the community. Students work with their mentors to design a special project that builds their skills while serving a relevant need in the organization. Students are encouraged to choose projects that the organization would not otherwise be able to complete. Interns have:

• Written a successful $10,000 City of Tucson grant proposal
  
• Developed an 18-hour life skills curriculum for women in residential substance abuse treatment
  
• Organized a community-wide task force for an Arizona child health care outreach and registration program