MY EDGE Project

Sharlie Dimick
Syracuse, Utah
Psychology
Leadership engagement

 

Guiding Troubled Youth to an Independent Life

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        For my Edge project I completed an unpaid 3-week internship over winter break at Waterfall Canyon Academy (WCA) located in Ogden, Utah.  WCA is a community based and residential therapeutic program for teens and young adults from ages 13-25, both males and females.  Clients of WCA tend to have behavioral problems anywhere from high-functioning autism, to borderline personality disorder. I worked as a staff specifically with the girl’s transitional living house. This house consisted of 6 girls from all over the country ages raging 17-22.  These girls are not ready to be completely independent yet, but do not need to be monitored and assisted at all times.

            As a staff worker my main responsibilities were to make sure the girls were safe, learning, being productive, behaving appropriately, and overall enjoying their experience.  I did a lot of transporting, taking them to therapy, volunteering, work or school.   I worked a lot of night shifts so I always got to make and eat dinner with them. This gave me a great opportunity to teach them skills in the kitchen and get to know them really well while we ate our meal together.  I also was in charge of documenting how each of their nights went, handing out medication, and making sure hygiene and cleaning was done before bed.

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Gingerbread competition with other WCA houses

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            I got the inspiration for this project mostly from my abnormal psychology class. I loved learning about behavioral problems and disabilities, as well as ways to treat and help them.  The business side of psychology has always caught my attention too, and programs like WCA have so much that goes into them to be successful. Such as; therapists, advisers, lawyers, coordinators, nurses, human resources, and so much more.  So I was eager to learn more about how many positions and opportunities one single program could offer.  While I was home over the summer in Ogden, a friend told me about WCA and I contacted the girl’s program coordinator immediately.

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            While this project was a success and very enjoyable, it came with plenty of challenges.  Before I could even work for WCA, I had to complete a CPR course and a training on how to properly give medication to clients and document it.  It was tough to find the time to do this since I was always traveling for cross country and busy with other classes or practice.  Another challenge was my age, there were several times where a client didn’t take me seriously or would make a comment about how someone my age can’t tell them what do to.  It could get discouraging at times but I learned to use that as a better way to set an example for them.

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            This job can also be very mentally challenging, and it can get difficult to stay professional/ethical at times.  Most days the girls behave well and do what needs to be done and make work genuinely fun. However, there were several incidents of clients self-harming, fighting and yelling, refusing to participate or being impossible to communicate with. It was hard to stay calm or to not say something rude to the client while they were in a manic state.  These challenges were very good learning experiences for me, and an eye-opener to the fact that it’s just part of the job that you must learn how to appropriately handle.

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            This project benefited a lot of other people besides myself.  The first people that come to mind are the female clients I worked with.  I have confidence that I made a positive impact on all of them after working for WCA.  Especially since I was only a little bit older than the girls, I think I was able to really relate to them and set a great example of how to behave and treat others, and what they can accomplish.  Lastly, I was able to teach them plenty of living skills like cooking, cleaning, and organizational tips.

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            My project benefited me so much more than I thought it was going to.  I made so many connections with the other employees at WCA and was able to show them what I have to offer.  I literally got an offer to work for the program if I move back up north after graduation. I’m so grateful I was able to get hands-on experience working with clients that I wouldn’t have gotten in a classroom.  It was also a great, and somewhat relieving confirmation that I will enjoy this type of career that I have been planning on.

 

           

 

 

 

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 Girl's gift exchange/

Christmas party

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I learned that I’m a good leader right now, but have potential to be a great leader. I also noticed that being a captain on my track team really helped me in this job setting as well. I would be stern when I needed to, encouraging, answered questions and kept them on a well-ran schedule.”