| |
Profile
of Lori Wertz, Intern, Falk School, 8/06
by Shannon Durkin
PPW/Writing Center Publicity Intern
 Lori
Wertz is an intern at Falk Elementary School in Oakland, where she
is also a teacher. Falk is unique because its philosophy is to teach
the whole child; it places equal emphasis on the emotional, social,
and intellectual aspects of childhood. Lori interned at Falk in
order to continue the work she began in Pam O’Brien’s
grant and proposal writing class. Lori took the initiative and typed
up a description of the internship for her boss; to her delight
he was very supportive of her ideas.
Lori’s main responsibilities include organizing a training
session for teachers, chairing a lunch committee, and writing grants
for a scholarship fund. How does she handle this heavy workload?
“Some days I do feel overwhelmed but only because I have moments
when I’d rather have someone just tell me what to do. I just
ask more questions on those days and engage others in a discussion
about my thinking. It helps me through my doubts.”
Lori created this internship herself; it was not an established
position at Falk. She credits her director with having confidence
in her and allowing her to take on new responsibilities. She sets
her own hours and has little supervision. However, this requires
a certain amount of discipline for Lori. She usually takes her work
to a coffee shop or the library so she is not distracted by other
things.
Although Lori is very happy with her internship, there have been
obstacles along the way. Luckily, she has developed a method for
overcoming her anxiety. “I have learned that a walk and/or
some meditation will always reinvigorate me. And if neither of those
activities is possible, then I just work at a different task while
munching on some chocolate.”
Through her work, Lori feels that she has developed a more realistic
and educated perspective on funding. She has also gained more confidence
in her writing, organizational skills, and leadership abilities.
These qualities will undoubtedly help her in her profession as a
teacher as well as in any administrative duties she may take on
in the future.
|
Up |