Internship enrollment at SPC is on the rise, and one particular academic program is paving the way with a steady growth in registration every term.

The Psychology program at SPC currently has 17 students enrolled in internships for the spring term, with three students serving as “Master Interns.”  These Master Interns provide mentoring to the incoming interns.  Paul Huggins, Chrystal Wiener, and Brittney Pena are the current Master Interns.  All three have already completed their internship class and are now preparing recently enrolled psychology students for their out of classroom experience.  Brittney Pena completed her internship with Pinellas Safe Harbor and was recently featured in the Internship and Career Connection Blog.

Pinellas Safe Harbor (PSH), located at 14840 49th Street North, Clearwater, Florida, is a Homeless Outreach Initiative that is run by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and is supported by the City of Saint Petersburg, the Pinellas County Government, and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.  Interns work with PSH residents to facilitate the milieu environment.  Interns also assist in identifying the needs of the residents.  On-site, PSH interns have a supervisor that prioritizes interns’ skill development, as well as providing interns with increasing responsibilities commensurate with their developing skill set.  PSH Interns are also exposed to other community partnerships from which the residents of PSH may transition.  The goal of PSH is to create a milieu that supports the physical and psychological needs of the residents in their potential transition out of homelessness.

Kim Molinaro, an assistant professor teaching psychology at SPC since 2003, says that the commitment of her students to civic engagement highlights the importance of a strong sense of community.  Kim also noted that “the contagious effect of civic engagement continues to be compelling and rewarding.”

Internships should be compelling and rewarding to every student, and this is something that the internship office, our community partners and academic programs should be striving for in the semesters to come.

Follow internship news at SPC on Twitter at #spcintern