This semester, Spring 2023, I had the pleasure of being a fellow for the Teen Program at Mary’s Center. The Teen Program is at the Mary’s Center Petworth location and consists of after-school workshops (Tuesday-Friday) which aim to educate teenagers in the DC metro area about college readiness, prevention topics, women's empowerment, and mental health awareness. There are currently close to 100 teenagers (9th-12th graders) enrolled in the Teen Program.
The structure of the program is hybrid meaning some of youth participants participate in the program virtually and some come in-person. Due to my class schedule, I worked independently a lot and joined the daily workshops virtually (4-5:30 pm), except for Wednesdays. On Wednesdays I spent the day on-site getting hands on experience regarding curriculum development and planning. I also stayed to help facilitate the workshops in-person on Wednesdays. We assisted with taking the youth participants on college tours at Catholic University, Howard University, and here at GW! I truly enjoyed seeing the youth participants excitement as they toured these campuses.
I also was given the opportunity to plan and facilitate my own workshops based on the Life Skills curriculum that was implemented for this semester. I focused on two main topics of the curriculum: “Healthy Familial Relationships and Friendships” and Crisis and Emotional Self-Management. This series included mental health education as it relates to interpersonal skills. Tips and strategies were discussed with the youth participants about how to develop and maintain healthy familial relationships. Similarly, tips and strategies were discussed and practiced about how to develop and sustain healthy friendships. This workshop was population-based, as many of the teen participants are in a season of transition in which some of them are graduating high school this Spring and advancing to college in the Fall. The next portion of this series focused on Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Crisis & Emotional Self-Management. This workshop focused on explaining and assuring that the teen participants were able to conceptualize EI. Further, the workshop demonstrated strategies for the participants to be better equipped to mitigate emotional crises amongst themselves.
Throughout the duration of this fellowship experience, I was able to develop public health professionalism skills, networking skills, and curriculum planning skills. Additionally, this fellowship experience provided me with the skills to really take the initiative to emphasize my usefulness throughout the rest of my career. I was allowed to bring my exciting ideas to the table and really bring them to life within the Teen Program.
By having the opportunity participate in this fellowship experience to develop and implement Healthy Relationship, Emotional Intelligence, and Crisis & Emotional Self-Management, I was able to communicate, advocate for, and address the mental health needs of adolescents. I am most looking forward to transferring and applying all the experience and new skills I've developed from this practicum experience on the ground in the public health field. Based on my experience, I would encourage students to apply for a fellowship experience, specifically at Mary’s Center!