Franklin & Marshall College

2009 Manheim Summer Mentoring Interns 

Front: Sarah Segal '11, Pam Horner '11, Cassandra Mullhollem '10,  Kathleen Fox '11

Back: Laura Scott '11, Kevin Brown '12, Sam Kates '10, Melissa Nalband '10, Anna Oltman '11

 

 

 

2009 Manheim Kids Kamp and mentors, sponsors and staff

 

What the 2009 Mentors had to say about this program:

Melissa Nalband

It was very sad to say goodbye to all the campers at the pizza party on Thursday - I didn't really realize just how large a part of my life they had become until it was time to say goodbye!  We saw some really significant improvements in the majority of our campers over the 6 weeks, and I think what helped that process along was how much each of us invested ourselves and our time in learning about the campers and their interests and just generally dedicating our time to them.

Sam Kates

During this past week, I was filming our older boys group doing improv sketches using some random props we gave them. At some point during their creative and hilarious skits I was totally overcome with emotion. I think it was a lot of things put together. I was so proud of the kids for working so well and effectively together: even though a lot of activities don't work out this well it was still a substantial improvement from anything at the beginning of camp. Also, I was proud of myself, because at that moment I was realizing what a positive impact we've made on these kids in such a short amount of time. The feeling was very different from getting an A on a test or paper, which is rewarding to me but far less so.

Anna Oltman

As a Government major at F&M, the difference between our educational opportunities and those of our campers has been invaluably eye opening. These children need so many resources that both the state and federal government are unwilling to give them, and the stratum of the population most capable of assisting them is unaware of how much kids like this could potentially offer if they were given the opportunity. I can think and debate about issues such as welfare and education with so much more wisdom having had this personal experience. This internship is unique, and does not fit the mold of a “real job”. But I challenge any of my future employers to spend a day trying to keep these kids from killing each other! This has been a massive challenge, and has made me infinitely more capable of coping with difficult people and impossible situations.

Kate Fox

This summer has been an unbelievably positive experience for me. So much has been put into perspective. Witnessing the kids’ social and learning disabilities first hand has finally made me realize how fortunate I am. Before camp, I had learned of disabilities like ADHD or Asperger’s but didn’t understand them at all; they were just words to me. After experiencing the behaviors and mannerisms of the kids at camp, I can more deeply understand the disorders and remind myself how fortunate I am. Another thing that has shocked me is the baggage these kids carry. They deal with such emotional turmoil in their unstable homes. Again, I am reminded how lucky I am to have a close family that supports me in everything I do. I have so much respect for these kids who have dealt with extremely trying situations at such a young age.

Laura Scott

Working with this group of kids this summer has been both a difficult and an extremely rewarding experience. The different facets of this job have taught me a lot about working with kids, working in groups, and also about myself in many different ways. Even into the first week of camp, I could not have foreseen the difficulties we faced as mentors. The kids presented us with problems I had never dealt with, but no matter what problems the campers were confronted with, they were – for the most part – able to bounce back and enjoy the rest of the day within minutes.

Pam Horner

I frequently study about adolescents and their behavior in my sociology classes, and working at this camp has really put all of that into perspective. These kids live a short distance from us here at school and yet have a completely different experience of life. I guess I will just try to appreciate what I have whether it be comfort or my health and ability to succeed in school. I have had a lot of jobs but most of them have been either monotonous or just a way to make money, but this internship has really taught me a lot about children, why they behave the way they do, and how they fit in society. 

Kevin Brown

Hoping to one day become a teacher myself, this is an important experience. Both of my parents are teachers and they've both told me that classroom control is the most important thing a teacher can learn. Without having your students in order, none of the information gets through, and everything falls apart. Also, though I am but scraping the tip of the iceberg, I've gained amazing amounts of insight regarding children with learning/social/mental disabilities. If I ever have a child in my class with a learning disability I am sure I won't be too intimidated after this summer. The reason I chose this internship was because of the pseudo-teaching experience it provides, as well as the organizational responsibilities it requires. Participating in this program has not only enriched my time here in Lancaster and helped me to make a difference in the area, but too has motivated my own ambitions to become a successful teacher someday.

Cassie Mulhollem

As camp nears its end, I am amazed at how much mentoring has both taught me about myself while also affording me a new set of skills I will be able to utilize in the fall.  At the program's on-set I could not imagine how playing kickball and drawing with chalk could be labeled an "internship". It seemed, to me, an impossibility that playing with children could teach me the amount that it has. After five weeks of working, I have realized the degree to which I have grown as a person. While I have strengthened my skills in patience and active listening, the most important trait camp has sharpened is my organizational skills. As we learned quickly, the children enjoy structure and improper planning can be disastrous.

Sarah Segal

This experience working with the Manheim Mentoring Program has definitely taught me many things that will enhance my education at F&M. This past semester, I took a course in psychopathology that covered many of the developmental and adolescent behavioral disorders. It was invaluable to work with children that exhibited some of the behaviors described in my textbooks because I was able to receive hands-on training with these kids rather than just read about their specific behaviors. I was also able to gain both insight and empathy into their lives through the stories they told me while I implemented active listening, which is something that a textbook would never be able to provide.

Cathy Walker, Program Supervisor and Instructor

Cathy Walker, Program Supervisor and Instructor
It is certainly deeply gratifying that this program we all worked so hard to make successful, has had such a profound affect on all the mentors. It is amazing how often we end up receiving so much more than we expected when we reach out and give of ourselves. I have never doubted the potential of this experience to enhance your education and deeply touch your lives. It does not always happen for everyone and I credit each of you for taking advantage of this opportunity to grow and learn and to give of yourselves in ways that develop your humanity.

What the 2008 Mentors had to say about this program:

Zach Romash '09

I have benefited greatly from working with the talented students of Manheim. Over the past 6 weeks I have had to deal with an assortment of situations. My experience at camp has made me a stronger and more confident person. I am somewhat of a shy person, and camp definitely helped me become more vocal. I was able to get in front of a large group and assert myself.

Working with the children also has made me a better person. It’s easy to get along with people that are like you, but when you have to deal with all types of people it can be a challenge. All the kids are different, thus I learned how to deal with all kinds of people. I wasn't able to handle every kid the same. Each of them needed specific needs to be fulfilled.

Also, I plan on becoming a teacher after I graduate from F&M. This program was great experience, as it taught me how to manage a large group of kids. Although the program was not specifically focused on academics, I definitely learned different ways to teach children. There is no doubt in my mind that I will carry my experiences in camp into the real world when I hopefully become a teacher.

I believe that kids have taught me a thing or two as well. The kids have such a positive outlook on life even-though their lives may be tough. They have taught me to keep a positive attitude even when things are not going well. I consider these kids to be my friends, and really do look forward to keeping in contact with them in the future.

Finally, I enjoyed working with the 8 other mentors, and believe I have learned from them. Each mentor brought something different to the table.

Amy Cawley '09

Taken as a whole I would have to rate working as a mentor at this camp as one of the most fun and frustrating summer jobs all mixed into one and I would not trade this experience for the world. This camp has not only provided me with some new and lasting friendships with the fellow mentors and hopefully the children but has also taught me many things about myself. While I was extremely excited to work at this camp I did have some doubts about my own personal abilities to work with this certain group of kids. I am now happy to report that these few doubts have been successfully proved wrong. First of all I had some worries about working with kids of this specific age group. In the past I have always worked with kids much younger and even my own mother was a little apprehensive about my ability to successfully relate to these children. However I have learned that while many times it is much more difficult to work with older children the relationships that are formed are that much more rewarding.

Another thing that I was particularly worried about was my ability to discipline these children. While I may be a loud and outgoing person I also have a tendency to avoid confrontation and do not enjoy reprimanding others whatsoever. In addition I try to keep everyone happy and tend not to yell at others for fear that they may dislike me for it later. This camp has shown me that in fact I am able to discipline others but also that they will not think less of me for it. It is quite the contrary, it seems that they will respect you and look up to you more for it. I feel that this lesson has had the greatest impact on my personality and will definitely help me stand up for myself and realize that just because you are speaking your mind or regulating others there is no need to fear being disliked.

On a last note this experience has definitely enforced the old saying "don't judge a book by its cover" While at first glance some of the kids just seemed like absolute tornados of destruction and misbehavior but once you uncover the true source of the problem a whole other light of understanding is shed on the situation. People really do in fact wear "masks" in order to cover their true feelings and with a little work and perseverance you can get to know the real person underneath. Overall I am so grateful for this experience and had an absolutely amazing time this summer.

Al Gianforti '09

This past summer has been a very unique and beneficial experience. I have gained a real insight into the guidance counselor career path, as these are the types of children who I would interact with most of the time. The camp itself, as well as the three weeks of training, feed into this. Aside from the specific, working and also making friends with a group of people I had never met is a crucial ability to be honed at this point in our lives. In addition to this, all of us have improved in our teamwork and our cohesiveness with others. We support our coworkers and know how to ask for support when we need it. We have all improved in our ability to create an effective schedule and implement it. More importantly, we have learned that thinking a schedule is going to work is a joke, and being flexible is huge. We all have seen how annoying it is when people who aren’t flexible complain all the time (lil'J). We have learned that you can't do a job like this half-heartedly, because it only makes things harder for everyone around you. We have learned that when using someone else’s classroom, always imagine that the person is a psycho who is intent on keeping everything in pristine condition, even though their classroom is being used by glue-happy impulsive 10-year-olds. And the only way to get glue off of a table is with a razor blade.

Fred Robinson '11

Well, there are a few things that I took from this program. First, I learned about the importance of being able to dedicate at least a little portion of time to someone, especially since these kids can barely get the amount of attention that just comes naturally in my family. There were also a few times where I would talk to Hunter, Seb, and a few others when they seemed to be having a rough day. But the fact I took a little time to stop and devote to them really made a difference in the moment or showed fruits later on in their behavior. Another thing I learned from this program is how to deal with people I work with in a more positive manner, because most jobs I have had did not require me to work as closely with 9 other people directly everyday. All of these mentors proved to be very cool and easygoing people, so there did not seem to be any negative energy between anyone. A third thing that I believe is very important that I learned over the course of this program is how to care about someone and not bring the stress from the job back home, all the time. There are a few kids that seemed to have grown on me over the summer and there were things that they either said, did, or talked about doing that would get me concerned for them, but in the end I had to leave some of this stuff at work so that I could come home and be able to go to work refreshed and ready to do it all over again the next day. It is hard to work with children and not eventually care about their wellbeing and future, but I know that what will be will be and if I can help effect them positively then I at least did one thing with my life.

Debbie Gallardo '10

I would say [hands down] I had a super amazing summer and I wouldn't change my experience for the world. This summer was full of various eventful memories with the campers that at times brought smiles and laughter and at other times frustration and impatience.

By the end of camp I became really attached to the campers and was sad to see them leave. I learned a lot during this summer, and these young children taught me a lot about myself as well. They made me laugh, they gave me memorable stories to share with my roommates, and at times I went home concerned about their circumstances at home. This camp has helped me realize that working with children from "at-risk" backgrounds is what I really want to do in life.

They tested my patience, they tested my authority, they even tested my athletic ability when they challenged me to a race!...But most of all they tested my willingness to be there for them when they needed an adult to talk to and open up about their feelings. This camp meant a lot to me because my childhood was very similar to what many of these campers are going through. As we learned in training, sometimes our negative experiences in life can become a vicious cycle as we reenact them in our lives as grown ups, not intentionally, but because its the only way we learned to do things... I always told myself I would never continue that cycle because I wanted things to be different. This camp helped me realize how much of an impact one can be for these young children. As oppositional as these campers were at times, they still look up to us even though they might openly deny it. It made me strive to be there for them even more because, as I've said before... it only takes one person to make that difference...and we happened to have nine...so the impact could be even greater!

This camp gave me a lot of useful skills that I can benefit from even out of camp. I've worked with children for several years now...but for the most part it was one-on-one work...Working with our 26 campers taught me crucial skills on managing a large group of children, dealing with conflict/resolution issues, learning how to spread out my attention so that no child feels ignored, being able to cater the lesson plan to suit every individual child's special needs, and the fact that working with children isn't a 9-5 job. You grow to care about this kids in a very special way...so much that I would go home sometimes and be wondering what the kids were doing at the moment, planning what I would want to do with them the next day, wondering how I could get Tessa to participate in the activities since she refused to do so the day before, and at times being at the store and seeing an item that reminded me of my kids and bring a smile to face.

I plan on keeping in touch with my girls [at least before I leave the country! lol]. I want to continue watering the friendship that we started over camp and hopefully see them blossom into the young beautiful ladies that I know they will become. Thank you Cathy and Lisa for this opportunity to work with this young and talented group of children. They brought so much into my life and I will forever keep the memories I shared with them over the last six weeks.

Drew Korns '10

I feel like there are so many benefits to this job that I'm almost at a loss for where to start. Most of what I gained from the experience had to do with things that I picked up about myself that I might not have discovered otherwise. I was amazed to find my patience tested further than it ever had been at times, and I was pleased to find that when I needed to maintain composure I was able to exercise it. At times it was extremely difficult not to look at one of the kids who had been making some kind of cruel remark to another camper and cut him down a peg with my own two cents. I was very relieved to know that when necessary, however, I wouldn't let the kids down by stooping to that level. Rather I could draw up the patience and maturity to do the right thing and count the offending camper. I was also really happy to work on active listening. I wasn't sure how well I would do with it, and I'm sure I was pretty rusty at first, but by the end of camp I felt like the kids seemed more comfortable opening up, which I took as a good sign. A benefit that doesn't relate directly to the kids so much would be having the opportunity to work with eight other students that I really had not met prior to this summer. It was great to work on a team comprised of people with diverse interests and see everyone come together for the kids. Overall, I'd say that knowing the kids had a good time, made some friends, and improved behavior and social skills is a huge benefit, because I can feel a great deal of satisfaction knowing that I helped make that possible.

Jennifer Jin '09

First of all, I had such a great time working with all the campers and mentors this summer! It was such a great experience to learn about each individual kid and realize how much they are dealing with at home. Their emotions and actions during camp definitely represent some of the things that they might be dealing with at home. However deep down, these kids are so sweet and are using their strong attitudes as a way to cover up the wounds inside. I have learned that I am so grateful to have such a good support system. These kids have so much potential especially if they had the constant support system behind them.

My patience for kids has definitely changed a great deal. Even though I have worked with kids in the past, these campers definitely tested my patience everyday. However as camp went along, I learned that kids love to test your patience. You can't get angry cause that will never solve anything. In addition, being able to actively listen to these kids definitely helped a lot as well. Some of these kids just need someone to listen to them. They aren't able to have that at home, which is why they sometimes just want to talk about the issues that are occurring at camp, but it also sometimes leads to other issues they might have with themselves or at home.

Just being able to be a part of these kids' lives and making somewhat of an impact is a fulfilling feeling. I loved watching these kids come to camp with such a great smile and excitement. Just being able to see these kids have a great time and seeing them smile and laugh was the greatest benefit. Hearing Jonathan say that he was going to miss us was such a great feeling and knowing that he wanted us to be there and keep camp going made me realize how wonderful these kids really are. They just needed an outlet to be themselves and camp was that to them.

This was a great experience and I learned so much from each individual camper. They are so different in many ways, which made camp so interesting everyday!

Beth Boyer ‘08

This has been the best experience of my life. Before Manheim, I did not know what laid ahead in my future. Now I have applications out and one acceptance to Graduate School to pursue my masters in Special Education. It was an eye-opening experience that confirmed what I wished to accomplish in life. There were ups and downs, but I definitely learned more about life through the eyes of the campers than I could have ever imagined.

Valerie Pusateri ‘09

Working with the kids at Manheim pushed me to be a better leader. Spending time with the kids every day and seeing each one grow throughout the weeks made the Manheim Mentoring Program an irreplaceable experience. Although this summer was filled with challenges, it was the most fun I’ve ever had.

Lunga Dlamini ‘11

I can say now how very important mentor relationships are from how much our campers valued them, and from how that involvement colored my understanding of child education -- richly; with important insights and warm memories that will stay with me forever. A terrific experience I wish everyone could have!

Mickey Rehring '08

This program gave me the chance to impact the lives of young people, when they are in a point in their lives that desires influence and attention on a daily basis. At the same time, it taught me a lot about myself, both as a person and as a leader.

 

Akemi Moriuchi '08

The Manheim Central Summer Mentoring Internship was an invaluable learning experience. The amount I learned about working with children and the relationships I built with everyone involved in the internship, could have only come from this type of opportunity. The kids were great and it was terrific to see how the program positively impacted them. I hope they gained as much out of it and had as much fun as I did.

Matt Jenschke '09

I have never had such a rewarding time in my life. It is a wonderful thing knowing that you are improving the lives of children.

 

 

Lyndsay Goldberg '08

My participation as a mentor was a rewarding and challenging experience. It was amazing to know that my involvement in the lives of these children, even for such a short period of time, made a positive impact on their lives and helped them to overcome their disabilities and insecurities. Each of the kids from this summer have impacted me in a way that will remain with me wherever I go from F&M.