Youth Villages

Therapeutic Recreation Specialist

May - August 2019 • Douglasville, GA

What I liked

I loved the experiences it gave me and the people I met.

What I wish was different

It would have been cool to be paid but it didn't lessen my experiences

Advice

Try everything and never hesitate to accept an opportunity.

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Recreation Intern

September 2019 • Memphis, TN

What I liked

Connections that are made with the youth. Being able to make a difference in someone's future. As well as the challenge of finding new ways to implement recreation that can relate back to life lessons.

What I wish was different

Advice

If you do not have patience then I would not recommend this for you.

1 One person found this helpful

Teacher Councelor Summer Intern

May - August 2019 • Memphis, TN

What I liked

I really liked experiencing a new town and type of job. Working with children in a residential setting was completely new for me and I was able to grow personally and professionally.

What I wish was different

Advice

One piece of advice I would offer about this experience is to prepare for long hours and have multiple games and activities ready in the even a youth goes into crisis.

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Summer Intern

May - August 2019 • Memphis, TN

What I liked

What I wish was different

Advice

Go into it with an open mind. Be willing to learn and ask plenty of questions!

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Summer Staff

May - August 2019 • Arlington, TN

What I liked

I liked that the work that we did was very similar to the job there. I got to work directly with the youth through life skills and participated in group therapy.

What I wish was different

The experience was great. I would do it all over again.

Advice

I would advise people to do their research before applying to this because it was definitely not what I had in mind when I first applied.

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Summer Intern

May - August 2019 • Arlington, TN

What I liked

I appreciated the opportunity to work with troubled children directly. It was interesting seeing how foster care systems work from the children’s point of view.

What I wish was different

I wish the organization did more for the children.

Advice

Direct care is hard. Working with troubled children can be a lot for a person. You must have a level head to be able to work here.

1 One person found this helpful

Youth Villages Summer Intern

May - August 2018 • Memphis, TN

What I liked

The company holds to its values.

What I wish was different

Better housing

Advice

Be open minded.

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Youth Counselor Intern

May - August 2018 • Memphis, TN

What I liked

The experience with the kids and learning from my amazing staff. I also made a host of new friends.

What I wish was different

The schedule. I worked from 2pm-10:30pm. No extra time to get other things done for myself.

Advice

Prepare yourself. Troubled youth are different. They have triggers, but they yearn for understanding from their counselors.

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Residential Intern

May - August 2018 • Linden, TN

What I liked

Youth Villages has a great philosophy when it comes to working with children. I really connected with several of my coworkers. The other staff treated me like I was full staff and not just an intern. I was able to do almost everything a full time staff member did. The pay was nice too, at $10 an hour. The other interns and I were well trained and appreciated/valued by the other staff. The kids were hard to deal with at some times but in the end I really cared deeply for them. A few kids discharged from the facility while I was there and it was so great to celebrate with them.

What I wish was different

The location I was at (Deer Valley) was a bit disorganized and were still catching up to some company-wide changes. We were also living in the woods which was a bit gross/scary in the beginning but we got used to it by the end. Some (not many) of the other staff were a bit unprofessional and would do things we were specifically told not to do in our training. This location actually closed down a few months after my internship ended, but other locations are still available for summer interns.

Advice

Stick up for what you know is the correct way of doing things. If a staff member starts telling you something different than your training, check with your supervisor before going along with them. Make sure to take care of yourself outside of work because working with these kids, while rewarding, can be pretty stressful. Maintain good boundaries with the kids and your coworkers.

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Counselor Intern

May - August 2018 • Memphis, TN

What I liked

I loved getting hands on experience working with at risk youth. I also really appreciated the career panels Youth Village hosted for the interns.

What I wish was different

I wish I had been better informed on what the internship entailed. I felt a little in the dark leading up to the internship. Adding on to that I think that communication within the organization can be grossly improved.

Advice

Go into the experience open minded and ready to learn.

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Social work intern

May - August 2018 • Memphis, TN

What I liked

I loved everything about working with this internship. Working with troubled youth and hearing about their problems which I help to fix is breathing.

What I wish was different

Wish I had more time to spend with my kids

Advice

The children are our future

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Intern

May - August 2018 • Memphis, TN

What I liked

It provided valuable, hands-on experience with at-risk youth, which was a demographic that I had not previously worked with before. The level of supervision was outstanding.