Kristen Sylvan

Learning Something New Every Day: My Undergraduate Internship with Bridges to Adelphi

The Bridges to Adelphi program supports students at Adelphi with autism spectrum disorder, social anxiety disorders and other nonverbal learning disabilities. Bridges is a multifaceted intervention program that is made up of academic coaching, learning strategies, behavioral modeling and peer mentoring. As an intern in fall 2013, I served as one of the program’s learning strategists. I had a caseload of six students and met with them once or twice a week for one-hour sessions.

Bridges taught me something new every day. First and foremost, interning at Bridges gave me the insight I needed to make an educated decision about what career path to follow. I was introduced to an entirely new field in mental health and discovered work that I truly enjoy. I also learned quite a bit about a range of disorders that previously were unfamiliar to me. Finally, I was able to see different forms of therapy firsthand and decide which I saw as effective.

My internship experiences surpass anything I could have learned in the classroom. I was able to take the theories and strategies I have been taught in my classes for the past few years and apply them in a clinical setting that aligned with my career goals.

Words cannot express how fortunate I feel to have had the opportunity to intern with Bridges. I know that my internship with the program has truly prepared me for my future.