INTERVIEW OF AN UNPAID INTERNSHIP Mrs. Gina Pereira Pre-K Head Teacher

WHERE WAS YOUR INTERNSHIP WHERE WAS YOUR INTERNSHIP ? Mrs. Pereira’s internship was working with kids. She worked at School 14 in Troy, New York. She was in a Kindergarten classroom for about 3 weeks, but there is a chance that it was more. She was unable to recall the exact amount of time spent.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO DO AN INTERNSHIP WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO DO AN INTERNSHIP ? One of the main reasons Mrs. Pereira decided to do an internship was her interest in being a teacher. She wanted to know what a classroom looked like. She wanted to see how a classroom worked. She was able to see and learn how to interact with the children. Also to get her degree she had to have a certain amount of hours, about 200.

WHAT DID YOU EXPECT WAS IT WHAT YOU EXPECTED WHAT DID YOU EXPECT ? WAS IT WHAT YOU EXPECTED ? In the internship Mrs. Pereira did expect some things but had a lot of things she did not expect. She expected to either love the job or hate it, obviously she loved it. She expected to be very busy but also expected it to be active, which it is. She did not expect that there was not much learning as there was “mothering” the children. It’s a lot of taking care of the children. Such as teaching basic skills like hygiene and putting on your coat, learning to zip the coat. She also learned that you will be comforting them and calming them down when they’re upset. Again “mothering”.

WHAT DID YOU GET OUT OF THE INTERNSHIP WHAT DID YOU GET OUT OF THE INTERNSHIP ? Mrs. Pereira got many things out of the internship. She made friends who wanted to be teachers or already were teachers. She developed a new respect for teachers and what they go through. She had a mentor that stayed her mentor for a long time. She learned about skills she is going to need. Being a mother, a nurse. It was going to affect her mentally, physically, and emotionally.

DO YOU REGRET DOING THE INTERNSHIP DO YOU REGRET DOING THE INTERNSHIP ? Mrs. Pereira found the internship to be a very good experience. She does not regret the internship at all. She learned a lot from this experience.

DID YOUR INTERNSHIP HAVE ANY EFFECT ON YOUR CAREER TODAY DID YOUR INTERNSHIP HAVE ANY EFFECT ON YOUR CAREER TODAY ? Mrs. Pereira says it had a great effect on her career today. “The internship had a great impact on my life, I’m a teacher because of it.” –Mrs. Gina Pereira.

WHAT WAS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PART OF THE INTERNSHIP WHAT WAS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PART OF THE INTERNSHIP ? Mrs. Pereira says that she loved the internship. The part she didn’t like was leaving. She made good friends, had bonds with all the children.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE INTERNSHIP WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE INTERNSHIP ? Mrs. Pereira’s favorite part of the internship was interacting with the children. She also loved getting to know the teachers and getting to the school.

IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE, WOULD YOU DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE, WOULD YOU DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN ? Mrs. Pereira said yes, she would do it all over again. She wishes that she had gotten more experience with different grades. She would have loved to have gotten to see 6 th grade and 2 nd grade, and many other grades. She also wishes she had gone to school to be certified up to 2 nd grade. She is certified up to 6 th grade but knows that she will not be going that high of level. “Yes, I would do the internship again, with out a doubt.”-Mrs. Gina Pereira

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND SOMEONE TO DO AN INTERNSHIP EXPLAIN. WOULD YOU RECOMMEND SOMEONE TO DO AN INTERNSHIP ? EXPLAIN. Mrs. Pereira does recommend doing an internship, no matter what career interest you have. “It will provide you with insight to if you are really interested in that career.”-Mrs. Gina Pereira

HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT BEING UNPAID IN YOUR INTERNSHIP HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT BEING UNPAID IN YOUR INTERNSHIP ? Mrs. Pereira did not mind not being paid. She had just left a job so she was financially stable and ready for the internship. She also found value in the internship, she was excited in starting a new career.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO DO AN INTERNSHIP WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO DO AN INTERNSHIP ? Mrs. Pereira’s advice is to do an internship. The experience will tell you what your interest are and if that job is a good job for you. She also gives advice by saying that you should narrow down your interest to about 2 or 3. She believes you should have more than one, if one is not a great choice then you will be ready to try something new.