Name: Natalie Ariza-Fandino
Class: 2024
Major: Psychology
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Internship Organization: Puentes de Salud
Job Title: Camp Counselor
Location: South Philadelphia, PA
When searching for what to do in the summer and what internship I would want to
take part in during my break, I had a clear idea that I wanted to work with children. After
working at the Phoebe Anna Thorne School for some time and doing some tutoring in West Philly
through my education placements, I found that working with kids was something that I wanted to
continue. When I found out about Bryn Mawr’s partnership with Puentes de Salud I thought
that it would be a great opportunity for me. Growing up in Philadelphia I knew about the
work that Puentes de Salud has done for the Latino community and being able to contribute
to their mission was something I was really excited about.
During the four-week summer camp, students engaged in a bilingual consent-based
education where we explored topics like language, identity, and culture. Puentes de Salud
worked to help students learn more about their heritage where they might not have the
opportunity to do so in other educational settings. Having the opportunity to engage in a
summer program that was bilingual was so powerful to experience because as a bilingual
student myself, that is all I ever wanted in an academic setting. Being able to communicate in
both English and Spanish with students was so rewarding because it showed students what
language justice education is in practice. This was very empowering because in my education
courses we had discussed what this might look like in an educational environment and now I
was having the opportunity to execute it in my summer internship.
My favorite part of the internship was being able to build close relationships with my
students because we had an intentional classroom dynamic (twelve students and four counselors), I
was able to work closely with individual students. Working with students on an
individual level has always been something that I have enjoyed: learning about their
distinctive learning styles, attachment styles, and interests. With there being more than one
other adult in the classroom, my counselors and I were also able to also grow closer together
and bond. This really helped our classroom dynamics because during our time together we
were better able to learn our strengths and preferences in the classroom to better manage our
responsibilities.
A concept that I learned at Puentes de Salud and that I felt was very important is
teaching consent-based education: teaching young kids the importance of boundaries,
establishing them, and respecting the boundaries of others as well. I had never heard of this
concept before or let alone seen it in practice but throughout our camp, I saw how beneficial
it was and I was extremely grateful that it was implemented. I saw how quickly students learned to
express their needs to their peers and to me and the other counselors, and learned to respect
the boundaries of others. As a psychology major who is interested in child psychology and
development, this was very powerful to see and is definitely something that I want to
continue in my work with children.
Visit the Summer Internship Stories page to read more about student internship experiences.