As an assistant teacher with Priscilla Pond Flawn Academic Center, Children & Society BDP Student Arianna Miller developed close connections with students and helped them accomplish their goals.
"It was a really special thing to watch children accomplish what they set their mind to by using what you’ve helped them strengthen during class time.”
Where did you intern?
I interned at the Priscilla Pond Flawn Academic Center in Austin, TX.
How did you find this internship?
During my sophomore year at UT, I took a child development course that had a lab component at the Priscilla Pond Flawn Academic Center. Ever since that course, I felt super connected to the work at the lab school and wanted to continue my work there later in my career as a UT student.
What kind of work did you do as an intern?
As an intern, I worked as an assistant teacher during our class sessions. In the class we had a master teacher, a graduate student, and I was the undergraduate student. My role was to help class go smoothly by observing the children and then intervening when I could feel conflict and extend their play when they needed assistance.
What was the most rewarding aspect of your Connecting Experience?
The most rewarding experience was developing close connections with my students. At the beginning of the semester, many children come in with different learning challenges and areas for specific growth throughout that school year. By the end of my time at the lab school, many of the children had surpassed their goals and made new ones. It was a really special thing to watch children accomplish what they set their mind to by using what you’ve helped them strengthen during class time.
In what ways has this Connecting Experience shaped your plans for the future?
This experience really showed me my impact on others around me. Because I’ve been in the student role my entire life, it was such a fun experience to be the teacher and really see how my time as a student has given me the knowledge and experience to be a great impact in a child’s life.
Please discuss the relationship that you had with your faculty mentor(s), and how they helped you during this Connecting Experience.
My faculty mentor was the master teacher in my class, and she was absolutely great. Not only was she an amazing teacher for her students, but she made an effort to always make me feel confident and understood in the classroom. It is very important that the teachers know what to do at all times because it can become a very stressful environment if not.