Sara Martin – Social Work Internship

For my senior year at Garden Spot high school, I decided to intern at Lighthouse Vocational Services. Lighthouse is a job site where adults with disabilities can find employment and is located on Orlan Road, right by Tyson in New Holland.

From elementary and up I have had an interest in working with people with disabilities. My desire to help people with disabilities comes from growing up with an older sister with Down Syndrome. Having the opportunity to have an internship in this field is a great way to find out if this could be a viable career option for my future. In elementary and middle school, I have worked with the life skills classes and always enjoyed it. Having that background and experience, I thought Lighthouse would be a perfect, and easy, fit. However, it’s different working with adults in a workplace as opposed to working with teenagers in a school.

When I first started at Lighthouse, I was helping the adults in the small groups, with participants who need more attention or work better with a one on one. I enjoyed getting to work closely with the participants, however, it was a stretching experience because I have never worked with some people who need a significant amount of care. I had to learn quickly what they were trying to tell me and what they could and could not have. It was a good experience and I got to appreciate them and become close to them. However, if I would get a job at Lighthouse, I would not want to work in a small group setting. So, I asked the supervisor if I could shadow staff that work in other departments so I can see all the different jobs at Lighthouse. Once I started job shadowing different positions, I really enjoyed myself and hit my stride. I was able to see people who are higher functioning and I got to see more of the floor. I’m excited to do more job shadows and learn about all the career opportunities available.

I possibly see myself working at Lighthouse in the future. I have grown in this internship by realizing everyone has worth and can work to some extent. Even if someone else could do it faster, it is still an amazing feeling to see the participants have that sense of accomplishment when they finish their job for the day.
I am very thankful for this opportunity to intern at Lighthouse while I am still in high school because it gives me great real-world experience and widens my horizons to so many different jobs out there. Doing this internship makes me excited to graduate and get a real job where I am helping people and making a difference.