My Internship Pursuit

Initially when I was looking for an internship, my goal was to find one that complemented my double major in criminology & criminal justice and psychology. During my search, I found some reputable organizations, but quickly discovered that they either required an extended training/orientation period or were not compatible with my schedule. Thus in finding the Urban Education Leaders Internship Program (UELIP) of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), which primarily focuses on an interest in education and public policy, I was skeptical that my interest in criminal psychology would be met. However, I quickly learned that this was not the case. Not only did my internship with DCPS indirectly appeal to my major, but it also provided me with a valuable experience in which I acquired fundamental skills and learned more about myself.

Being that I am interested in the criminal justice system, I was assigned to the Office of Labor Management and Employee Relations (LMER) to a team of supervisors in the Office of Human Capital. LMER has the goal of assisting employees and making certain they comply with DCPS rules and regulations. This essentially means that they ensure that DCPS employees are not harassed or discriminated against, that their needs and concerns are addressed, and that they meet certain requirements such as their drug and alcohol testing. Due to the legislative nature of my team, I felt that the different tasks and responsibilities I was given intersected with my University studies. More specifically, the tasks I learned were similar to my criminal justice courses. For example, this semester, I took CCJS 300: Criminal Justice Research Methods in which I learned about the components of research design and data colle...

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...s far and what they hope to accomplish for the rest of the time they spend there. This “progress report” would allow fellow students to learn more about each other’s internship and maybe help them to decide if they would like to pursue an internship at a particular place in the future. I feel that the addition of these changes would enhance the Capstone internship experience and bring more of a personal component to the class.

Works Cited

DCPS. "A Capital Commitment." District of Columbia Public Schools. District of Columbia

Public Schools, 2011. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

DCPS/About+DCPS/A+Capital+Commitment+-+DCPS+Strategic+Plan>.

DCPS. "Office of Labor Management & Employee Relations." District of Columbia Public

Schools. 2013. Web. 12 May 2014.