I served my first full year as a CBL Intern this past school year. Reflecting on the year, I realized how amazing of an experience it was for me. As a member of the class of 2024, my sophomore year was my first year being fully on campus and in-person at Holy Cross. It was definitely a big adjustment for me because classes were back in person for the first time since my senior year of high school. Clubs, extracurriculars, and CBL sites were starting to gather in-person again. While I did face some challenges adjusting to the world around me returning to somewhat “normal,” I was able to make the most of the situation and learned a lot about myself in the process.
First, I participated in CBL during my spring semester of Freshman year, being completely on zoom with the Nativity School of Worcester. This past school year, I was lucky enough to be able to return to the Nativity School in-person with the same students that I had tutored on zoom the previous semester. It was an amazing experience getting to meet them in person and work with them to the best of my abilities. Reflecting on this experience, I realized how much these students meant to me as well as that strive I get when being able to make in-person connections with others: noticing how much more I was able to connect with the students I was tutoring while in person and the more I learned about them and myself during our weekly sessions. Additionally, I gained a lot with working with young children, as it requires patience and making genuine connections with them. All in all, I had an unforgettable experience working with the students at the Nativity School of Worcester and learned a lot about the students and myself in the process.
I enjoyed being a part of the CBL Intern Program this past year for the first time. Not only did it allow me to continue with the program, it also provided me with a great group of friends that I learned a lot from. Being able to listen to the experiences of others allowed me to learn lessons from countless sites despite not having the time to visit each of them on my own. The CBL intern community creates an inclusive environment for others to share their experiences which allowed me to teach others about what I learned from the students at the Nativity School as well. Having the space to allow for these discussions has allowed me to put my time spent in CBL into context in my life. This has been very beneficial for me and has allowed me to grow as a person and as a CBL intern. I also enjoyed being able to meet with other CBL students to give them feedback on their journals and push them to reflect on their experiences. This allowed them to learn more about themselves and brought me great joy knowing that I was able to help someone become a better version of themselves.
In conclusion, I had an amazing experience as an intern this past year and am beyond excited for the year that is to come. I have learned a lot in the past year, I am looking forward to new experiences and to learning more about myself and learning from others.
