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!