Blog 16- My legacy

IQuest has given me the greatest experience during my senior year. I took my iQuest seriously and stayed consistent to the times I would go in every week, which ensured my progression. All my goals this year were accomplished because I made a commitment to myself and my mentor and wanted to excel in my field. The experience gained from iQuest contributes so much to my future and success in the field of psychology. The best advice I can give to future iQuesters is to stay consistent all year with your internship! What you learn from any mentor is so valuable and important. if you love your internship, knowledge will come easy because of all the fun you're having. Take advantage of all the resources Mrs.Sekara gives you and all the opportunities offered by your internship! There's always room for improvement, so be open to new activities and experiences. I'm so thankful for Mrs. Sekara connecting me with Jeaine Wilkinson, and I'll never forget what I learned over this year!

Blog 15- Final Reflection

I knew I would learn from Jeanine when we first chatted at Bagel Street in the beginning of the year, but I never guessed the type of knowledge and connections I would make with others along the way. My favorite aspect of iQuest by far were the connections I made with other psychologists, therapists, teachers, children and behavior analysts. By meeting and talking to so many people, I gained much insight on the fields of behavior analysis and psychology in general. I also learned a lot from sitting in on meetings and watching how they run and everyone interacts. Many people in this field are friendly and non-judgmental, and I loved it. Although, many conflicts arise between teachers, parents, kids and behavior analysts, and watching how Jeanine handles such confrontations was really helpful as well. 

When I first started iQuest, I was very uncomfortable with children, and this was my biggest hurdle throughout the year. Strange I know, but as an only child I wasn't around younger children much and I was always comfortable keeping to myself. When talking to Jeanine about this once, she told me, "you can't say that! You can't always think about yourself as being bad with kids, then you're going to believe it. You're not bad with kids! You love dogs and animals, so you have to be good with kids too,".

I really took this advice to heart, and I feel I have truly gotten better at communicating and being at-ease around children. Even with my younger cousins, I feel more comfortable talking and playing with them. I wish I would have been more engaged and less shy in the first few months of my iQuest journey, but I guess everyone has to start somewhere.

I spent half the time in home assessments or classrooms or meetings, but the other half of my years was full of office work. I filed, scored countless Vinelands, made binders for the patients, made visual cards and classroom materials, proofread assessments, made graphs for patients progress! Towards the end of the year, I became sort-of pro at making graphs and visual cards, and Jeanine asked me to teach another behavior analyst how to make graphs like I do! I took this as a huge compliment, as I always try very hard and am incredibly diligent in my work, and I love when it's noticed. I recommend this class to anyone who has a passion and wants to pursue it before college. I have a year of experience under my belt compared to those in my major, and that's a great advantage! My mentor offered a continuation of the internship through college, and I'm beyond excited and very humbled she would want to continue our relationship. I can not wait to see what the future has in gold, and although the I don't see myself as being a behavior analyst, the experience I gain from this internship is incredibly valuable. Looking back on my entire iQuest experience, I am incredibly grateful Mrs. Sekara connected me with my mentor, Jeanine Wilkinson. I never would have guessed I would learn so much and gain so much experience as well, and I could not imagine or want my senior year any other way!

Blog 14- Being Positive

One positive quote that resonates with me is, "Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching?"~Dennis and Wendy Mannering. I love this quote because I always believe you get what you put out into the universe, and attitude applies. Since reading The Happiness Project in middle school, I've strived for constantly exuding a positive energy. Attitudes are contagious, and being positive is more beneficial for yourself and those around you. Of course, I know it's not realistic or healthy to be exuding happiness twenty-four hours a day, but there are no downsides to positive thinking. Being extremely empathetic, my happiness partly relies on the attitudes of others around me. The ability to quickly change negative situations into positive ones is hard to master, but I believe it betters yourself and those around you. Any kind of attitude is contagious, and I strive to be someone everyone wants to be around because of my continually positive energy!

RESILIENCE

Blog 13- Bucket List

1. Earn the title Dr.
2. See the Grand Canyon
3. Visit Niagra Falls
4. Skydive
5. Go to a foreign country
6. See a castle
7. Name a star
8. Tour Alcatraz
9. Make a homemade meal for my family
10. Have a cat
11. Scuba dive in Mexico
12. Go to Mexico
13. Go to Coachella
14. Walk the Great Wall of China
15. Change someone's life
16. Teach a seminar
17. Zipline
18. See the pyramids in Egypt
19. Gondola ride in Venice
20. Buy my own car
21. Get a tatoo
22. Ride an ATV

Blog 12

Five Things I've been procrastinating on...

1. Mailing final information into SFSU
2. School scholarships
3. Going to the gym
4. Looking at housing and financial aid for next year
5. Getting in touch with a physical therapist

Blog #10

 

The last few personality activities done in class have been enlightening and amusing! Because the Myers-Briggs and Holland Code tests described me so nicely, I want to show all my friends and see what they score as well! I love personality tests, as they are always frighteningly accurate. I know myself pretty well, yet the results of these tests always surprise me. Seeing my personality laid out, defined in words by a machine, I never expect the descriptions to describe me well. Some of my personality traits I overlook, while some I pay too much attention too, and seeing the results of these personality tests put some things into perspective for me. I always find the suggested job occupations of my certain personality intriguing, simply because they're usually ones I have never considered. For the Myers-Briggs personality tests, I questimated myself to be someone who looks for alternatives and makes decisions based on logic, when I scored as one who makes decisions based on feelings and judges life according to the set plan. These personality tests were both interesting and revealing.

Blog #9

Now a second semester senior, both my time in San Ramon Valley High and my internship are halfway over. Reflecting on my first blog, I have come so far in my knowledge and experience with behavior analysis. By the end of this semester, I want to have established a solid relationship with at least one client. Creating visual cue cards and scoring adaptive behavior scales has become easy and familiar to me, a goal I wanted to have mastered by the start of this semester. With an excess of new at home clients and programs in the company, I will have many more opportunities to get hands-on experience in the field!

At home programs can be far away or close by, either in the morning or during the day, making going to an at home program difficult to find time for. With my mentor's insanely busy schedule and my work and school schedule, finding a time where we both can go to an assessment has proven difficult. Luckily, I've gotten used to my mentor's busy schedule, now planning in advance when we can both attend at-home programs. Hopefully, this proves to be useful and I can get more time in the field. Also, after hiring a new office manager, I can easily text her and see if my help is needed in the office, expecting a quick response when my mentor is busy. Combining busy schedules proves to be the most difficult task in my iQuest, and planning meetings ahead of time is an easy fix. As my knowledge of behavior analysis and the practice has grown, my comfortableness around children has too. Prepared and experienced with the correct procedures to use, and when to use them, has eased my anxiety and boosted my confidence working with kids. Practice is the only way to truly excel and gain experience, so I can only hope having the chance to attend assessments and at-home programs continues to increase my knowledge and reach my goals!