An internship is a valuable piece to a college education.  A student can earn credit towards their degree, and gain useful experience in their field of study.  Sometimes, however, the internship can be something more.  Brittney Peña is interning with Pinellas Safe Harbor, and this is how one SPC student is making a difference.

Being given the opportunity to work with the Safe Harbor Homeless Shelter has been an amazing experience for me. In more ways than one it has opened my eyes to a world that our society otherwise tries to pretend doesn’t exist. Before coming to the shelter I had these preconceived ideas about what a homeless person was, whether or not they would be dirty and misbehaved, just as society portrays them to be. After spending time, day after day with the same people, I came to realize they were just like anyone I’ve ever met. The only difference was, they were homeless. I learned that everyone has a different story to tell, some of the stories may be that they fell on hard times, others may be so heart-wrenching that the resident can barely retell it. The residents of the shelter should be seen as equals, they shouldn’t be defined by what’s happened to them or by the state in which they live. These are human beings that need help to get back on their feet, without this help they could spend the rest of their lives in perpetual homelessness. This experience has been very humbling, I’ve became more aware of just how little it takes to end up in the same situation and just how hard it can be to dig yourself out.

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