One day down, folks!
A lot to process today. The day started of with the commute, which I expected to take about an hour but ended up taking only about 20 minutes. I think I'm starting to figure out that in Atlanta, you either have to get somewhere an hour early, or be on time/risk being 40 minutes late. Think I'll go with an hour early.
I meet the other interns in the lobby of the school where the meeting was held. Their names are Kaylee, Tasia, and Laurie. All super nice people. We all headed down to a conference room where an amazing homemade breakfast was waiting for us (will this happen everyday? I can get used to that), made by our internship supervisor, the wonderful Amber Weldon-Stephens (who I already LOVE. One of the nicest, funniest, and most charismatic people I've ever met. Can't wait to learn from her and pick her brain.)
This is when the overload started. We got a big ol' notebook full of schedules, forms, and assignments. Add to this the fact that our supervisor (Amber) talks a mile-a-minute, and I think all four of our heads were spinning. We met principals, school psychologists, and social workers (all of whom were very nice as well.) The music therapy program, and really the school system as a whole, seems extremely well supported, which is great to see.
The basic breakdown goes like this: the next two weeks I'll spend observing. After that, I start easing into sessions (starting with 1 activity per session, then two, then three, etc.) They slowly take the training wheels off, which I like. After winter break, we're pretty much flying solo. This is apparently where it gets crazy. I'll be at four schools a week, and thankfully, I spend my entire day at each school.
After all the meetings, we went out to lunch with all twelve (TWELVE!) full time MT's in the Fulton County School System. Awesome to meet them all.
So all in all, a bit overwhelming, but definitely in a good way. I never felt like "Oh Lord, what have I gotten myself into?" but more "This is a lot, let's get to it!" I think all the
That's all for now! Stay tuned, I'll be starting an ongoing series soon. It will be a short profile of other music therapy blogs I enjoy. First up will be fellow FSU intern Michelle Strutzel's blog,Beyond The Music. I may do this tomorrow, but no promises. Tomorrow is the single greatest day of college football games in ten years, so I will be occupied. It may get pushed to Sunday.
Before I sign off, let's start a discussion: MT-BC's and MTI's, what do you remember about your first day of internship/new job? Leave a reply in the comments!
I'm really glad to hear it went well! I remember my first day of internship (almost exactly 4 years ago) - I got there an hour early because I was nervous about my commute in St. Louis :) I met tons of people, got a huge notebook, and felt really overwhelmed...in a good way. Sounds like we had very similar first days!
ReplyDeleteHey! Happy first day! Thanks for the link. :) My first day: my supervisor made me a little survival pack with office supplies and M&Ms, plus she fed me doughnuts! My first day was a lot of fun observing sessions and meeting the staff (and patients). I was sent on a scavenger hunt.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your blog! I interned in San Diego, and on my first day, a semi truck carrying some sort of hazardous liquid overturned on the freeway, blocking all of the southbound lanes and all but one of the northbound lanes, with traffic backed up for many miles on the freeway and clogging the alternate route I had so studiously figured out the day before. It turned my 20-30 minute commute into a 4-hour drive! I arrived at the hospital sometime after lunch, and honestly, I don't remember the rest of the day. My supervisor was understanding, though.
ReplyDeleteMy first day of internship was actually an orientation through the hospital where I had the most awesome catered breakfast and lunch...it was great! My second day (actually first day of the MT part) was overwhelming. I got there before everyone else cause I was nervous about being late. but I got to meet the other intern and music therapist that worked with my supervisor, as well as various hospital staff I would be working closely with. I got my schedule and assignments to be completed and remember being a little scared but really excited! They also took me out to lunch which was fun and I got to observe some sessions :)
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