Oh hi, I didn’t see you there. My name is Cara Zajac and I am currently a rising senior studying Psychology and History at Tulane University. I’m planning on pursuing a career in therapy and social work and am interested in matters of social justice and equality.
This summer has certainly been very busy for me. I am currently participating in three internship programs around New Orleans all centered on the field of social work, psychology, and the field of mental health. The first is the Tulane Parenting Education Program (T-PEP) located in Tulane’s School of Medicine. This program works with families who have been referred to them from the Department of Child and Family Services with cases of abuse or neglect. We run multiple group therapy sessions throughout the week for parents, including the Effective Black Parenting group and the Nurturing Parent Program. Also, we provide individual assessment and interventions for both parents and children and offer visitations counseling for parents whose children are currently in the foster care system.
At T-PEP, I assist with many of the day-to-day operations in the office. I provide child care, help maintain the filing and record keeping systems, assist with assessments for new clients, as well as read through case files and other therapeutic resource materials. So far, working here has been unbelievably exciting and interesting. I’ve really enjoyed looking at the actual materials used in counseling and therapeutic settings as well as reading though case histories and becoming familiar with how case management works. Also, we have weekly meetings with all of the interns and have discussed career planning as well as new advancements in research surrounding conduct disorder from infancy to adulthood and how psychopathy manifests itself in different individuals. I was referred to this internship by one of their previous interns that I met in a seminar I was involved in though Tulane’s service learning internship program.
Another really interesting program I’m working with this summer is the Metropolitan Center for Women and Children’s domestic violence shelter. Also known as “Metro,” this organization offers emergency temporary shelter for individuals and families who are survivors of domestic violence. Also, we operate a 24-hour domestic violence, stalking, and human trafficking crisis hotline as well as provide counseling, legal advice, and referrals to other organizations throughout the state of Louisiana.
So far, I’ve found working at Metro to be a very eye opening experience as to what working in the world of non-profit and survivor support is like. Here, I’ve worked on updating our filing and case record system, sorted through more donations than I’ve ever seen brought someone in one day, and received training on how to work the hotline. I’ve learned a lot in terms of what constitutes an abusive relationship as well as how stalking and human trafficking occur everyday nationwide. Along with the other volunteers at Metro, working in our “boutique” certainly keeps me busy. This is the room where we sort all of the clothing donations we receive from individuals and multiple organizations. In case you were ever wondering, people donate what seems like full closets of clothes literally every day, but I can discuss that more in later posts. I’m hoping to learn more about providing counseling services, analyzing statistics and how that relates to public policy and grant funding, and how to prevent burn out in a field that can often be emotionally draining.
Finally, I am serving as an undergraduate research assistant for Doctor Laurie O’Brien in Tulane’s Department of Psychology. The lab works within the field of social psychology, specifically examining matters of prejudice, discrimination, stigma, and intergroup interactions.
Going in, I wasn’t exactly sure what my responsibilities would be. So far, I’ve helped with data entry as well as the process of turning qualitative data (written descriptions) into qualitative data (numbers). It’s definitely been a little tedious but I know that each detail can have a great effect on the research outcomes so I try to be as meticulous as possible. For the summer I’m really hoping to simply gain more insight as to the scientific process of creating research as well as how labs function on a day to day scale.
One thing that pretty much applies to all of these is that I was able to get involved by talking to my peers and colleagues, telling them my interests and simply asking about what projects they are involved in that they have enjoyed. Hearing someone else excited about his or her work really helped me become motivated to apply, interview and go through all the training before I started. Now that I’m a little over a week in, many of their words have shown true and I have found myself excitedly telling others about the work I’m doing now.
I’m really looking forward to seeing what all of these projects have in store for me in the coming weeks and will keep posting updates here!
Looks like some great exposure in undergrad to prepare you for graduate work. A good mix of research and “getting your hands dirty.”