The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Issue date: 4/2/09 Section: Commentary

As I sit here in the law library surrounded on all sides by many leather-bound books, I begin to think, "My education looks nothing like this!"

Tomorrow morning I will stroll over to Places for People, my social work and psychology practicum site, for which I will receive a whopping nine credits this semester.

This mental health service agency is where my academic career at Saint Louis University went from the written word to the absurd.

Practicum experiences (or internships) offer students the chance to practice having a "real" job, the chance to serve their communities and the chance to network in an especially positive way.

My time at Pfp has converted me into a believer in the idea that I can find fulfillment in a full time job. Despite my old assumption that I would never desire a 9-to-5 profession, I have come to envy the employees who work those hours.

I see that spending more time at an organization means an increased investment in it and therefore a greater capacity to derive meaning from the experience. Knowing I have responsibilities to improve the lives of others at Pfp motivates me to wake up in the morning, unlike the masses of classes I have taken at SLU.

Another aspect that makes this job-like commitment worth your time is the feedback from your supervisor.

The relationship I have formed with mine has led to great self-discoveries.

For example, through his pointing out that I spend too much time in my head and need to simply throw my consciousness into truly listening to the stories of other people.

Other lures include people continue to talk to you long after you end the conversation and walk into another room, who insists that his case worker is planning to kidnap him, or who currently live on the street but come in for a free lunch and the staff's smiling faces.

Working on a practicum is a form of community service. You are a volunteer who does much of the work an employee may do and at first glance this may seem like a job that pays.

Instead, think of it as a way to give back to the community in which you are living, much the same way a professor may help with a study in which they attain no monetary recompense. Once you feel the importance of the work you are doing, you tend to see past the role of money.

Serving at a practicum site results in outstanding discoveries of knowledge and open doors.

Forming relationships with your supervisor and other workers has been a great end in itself, but they also have informed me about the St. Louis area, other organizations, potential jobs, and politics around relevant issues and within the agency.

My supervisor responds to every interest of mine with a potential contact person, thus empowering me to step through doorways I thought were closed or nonexistent.

I have barely touched the surface in terms of explaining what you can gain from a practicum or internship experience. I could talk your head off about the people with mental illnesses who make me smile whenever I see them at the agency.

I wish SLU would encourage practica and internships with greater frequency because when I graduate, it will be my time at Pfp that I remember more than the books in the law library with roofs of dust.


Justin Lorenz is a senior in the College of Education & Public Service.