Author: Stephanie Walker

You are creating a product that transfers your internship experience into educational resources. Please describe the challenges and successes you are experiencing.

Creating a product from my internship experience has been very challenging. I have not spent much time in my internship which leaves me without much knowledge to transfer into a product. I have contacted several times and only been given instructions for the next day or times to meet later that same day. When I meet with them I am always told that we will be in touch, but I do not hear from them until I make contact again.

I was instructed to take a curriculum developed by the National Credit Union Organization and brand it Coastal. They would like for me to scale it from lower elementary to adults. I am finding it difficult to do this because I was not given much direction. I am not sure how much they would like me to change or create from scratch. I also am not sure if I am supposed to use this as my product or if I also need to create a lesson plan to teach my class. I have not figured out where to start with this project and now I seem to be running out of time during the summer to work on it. I do not want to alienate the Credit Union who has allowed me to become a Kenan Fellow, but I also do not know how to create this product for them with the Coastal Brand.

 

I feel that there have been few successes so far in my experience. I have not spent enough time in the internship to have had successes in it.

The highlight of my week at the KFP summer institute was the rafting trip. I throughly enjoyed the experience of bonding with my KFP team and learning how to whitewater raft. The beauty of the water mixed with Peter’s knowledge of the greenery surrounding it, more than made up for the lack of sunshine.

The informational sessions during the Edcamp were probably the most useful sessions because we were able to choose our sessions and ‘tailor’ them to our specific needs. I have already started thinking about how we can use the project based learning model in different ways this year. I believe it will also help me frame my KFP project in a more effective way.

The immersion of this institute has been the most beneficial part of the experience. When I go home from other PD sessions, a lot of times, the information drifts to the back of the brain and stays there. This institute has been different because we are pulled away from the distractions of day-to-day life which has made the biggest difference in retention of information.

This has been one of the best professional developments I have taken part in and I am so thankful to have been a part of #KFP17

 

I hope to gain two things from this fellowship experience; more confidence as a team leader and a deeper understanding of how to connect with people.

I have just completed my second year of teaching and am currently the youngest employee at my school. Due to extensive changes being made within Bugg, I have been named the grade chair of second grade for the 2017/2018 school year. Sitting amongst the others on the leadership committee it is hard to feel that I have earned my place because most of them have been teaching for many years, some as many as I have been alive. While I know I bring good ideas and perspective to this team, I would like to be able to glean a new confidence from going through training specifically designed for leadership.

As an introvert, networking and connecting with people is not one of my fortes. I find myself to be awkward in large groups of people (including parents and fellow teachers) which can greatly hinder my ability to make positive and memorable impressions on them. Going into this fellowship without anyone I know was a new step for me. More than anything, it is forcing me to begin to make those connections and develop my networking skills. By the end of this fellowship I believe I will be well on my way to meeting that goal.