I’m a recent graduate of the University of Georgia, and I’m excited to intern for Taylor’s Tale this summer. But why am I working for this incredible organization?

For starters, I’ve known Taylor’s incredible family for about five years (I know, I’m quite lucky!). We met through a Charlotte non-profit organization called Playing for Others (PFO). PFO encourages teens to ask themselves two questions: “Who am I, and how will I give of that?” As a member, I explored and developed my own leadership skills through the arts.

But the buddy program, where teens get paired with a person with a disability, was my favorite part of PFO. During my senior year of high school, I had the honor and pleasure of being paired with Taylor.

Throughout that year, I spent time with Taylor and her immediate family. I was amazed that each of them was so strong, driven and passionate. I had never met a group so willing to be courageous and so unwilling to take “no” for an answer. And, I knew I wanted to keep them in my life well after the buddy program ended.

When I was researching colleges, Mrs. King asked me what I wanted to study. I had always liked working with kids, and my three years in PFO showed me that I enjoyed working with people with disabilities as well. However, I didn’t like working with big groups of kids at the same time (ruling out teaching), and I didn’t want to be in charge of kids’ lives (ruling out careers in the medical profession). Mrs. King mentioned that their family worked closely with people called Child Life Specialists whenever Taylor was hospitalized. I had never heard of a Child Life Specialist, so I went home and pulled out my computer to put a Google on it.

Child Life has many parts, and the job changes by day and even depending on the specific floor where you work. But in general, Child Life Specialists (CLS) take care of the psychosocial needs of children and their families during a stressful time. They:

• Create a sense of normalcy by providing familiar things to do to make the setting less stressful
• Provide support during medical procedures
• Guide therapeutic interventions to help children and families cope
• Provide education in a developmentally appropriate way to help give patients and families control over their situation

 

Child Life? It seemed like everything I’d ever wanted. It would allow me to support children of all ability levels and their families in difficult situations and teach them about their disease or procedure. Most of all, it would allow me to play with kids and have fun doing it.

I chose the University of Georgia because they offer a program that sends four students to the Children’s Hospital of Georgia in Augusta during their senior year to intern as Child Life Specialists. The program gives these four students about three times the amount of clinical hours necessary for certification.

Luckily, I was accepted into the program and completed it this year, graduating in May. Along the way, I got to practice Child Life on six different hospital units. I saw and learned a lot about how hospitalization and different illnesses or diseases affect a child and their family system.

I also decided to apply for an online master’s degree in nonprofit management. I have always loved the non-profit mission and figured that if I ever get tired of hospital life, working in the non-profit setting would be a good way to continue working with my target population. Plus, some of the skills I’ll gain, such as management and grant writing, could help me in the Child Life world. I will start the online program through Northeastern University this fall.

In August, I will sit for my Child Life certification exam, after which I can begin working full-time as a Child Life Specialist. That means I’ll spend much of my summer studying.

But I wanted to do something meaningful with the rest of my time at home in Charlotte, and I’m so glad Taylor’s Tale invited me to become part of the team. This internship will be a great way for me to:

• Give back to Taylor’s family for putting me on my life path that I love so much
• Expand my nonprofit skills and knowledge before starting my master’s degree work
• Continue to advocate for children and families, even if I’m not at their hospital bedside

 

The official start of summer is still weeks away, yet I’ve already jumped into many different pieces of Taylor’s Tale and the rare disease advocacy world. I look forward to being part of this amazing organization and population of humans. This may be my first post, but it certainly won’t be my last, and I hope you enjoy my perspective on the things I experience this summer.