Brandon Harlin
As a kid playing on football fields around Highland Park, Michigan, Brandon Harlin grew up idolizing NFL players. Now he's working side by side with them as a communications intern with the New York Giants.
From managing media profiles and launching a new website to help players tackle press coverage, Harlin is seeing his dreams of sports management come to fruition.
"Just the ability to grab and coach players for camera time is cool; it's like I'm their PR coach," says Harlin, whose ultimate goal is to lead a sports franchise.
Harlin built a strong foundation for this experience through a previous internship with WMU Athletics.
"I can have an educated say in a lot that I do (with the Giants) outside of what I'm required. The WMU internship taught me hard work and to be a sponge for knowledge."
As his internship with the Giants progresses, Harlin is looking forward to gaining more experience and knowledge of the game and his position within a professional sports organization.
"I arrived (at Western) a boy from a small town with no clue where to go. Now I'm a man in the Big Apple with an actual path," he says. "I know this will unlock many more doors for me." ■
(Photos courtesy: Matthew Swensen)
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Gabi Saxman
It's not all about basketball for early childhood education student, Gabi Saxman. Off the court she is completing her second field experience at the Tutor Time Daycare Center working with three year olds.
As a daycare intern, Saxman helps with the planning and implementation of age-appropriate activities and playtime. By creating a positive and nurturing environment children are able to learn and develop the social skills needed for preschool.
"I've been really blessed to work with the daycare staff. They're all wonderful with the kids and have taught me how to speak with them to get their attention. And it's been a lot of fun learning how to work with three year olds."
Of her many responsibilities, it's the experience of working with a new age of children that is most exciting about her internship.
"They keep you on your toes," she says. "I just love playing with them and watching them grow."
Nina Amicarelli
Every year, Broncos majoring in education have the opportunity to head to Auckland, New Zealand to complete a portion of their student teaching internship requirement. The experience gives pre-service teachers, like Nina Amicarelli, a senior majoring in elementary education, a chance to prepare for their own classroom while expanding their idea of what classrooms can look like.
Placed in schools around the metro area, students observe details of organization and management specific to their class and school and gain understanding as to how teachers in New Zealand get to know children, establish routines, and determine individual needs. While there, the future educators attend and take part in professional team meetings and whole staff curriculum development meetings, develop the use of long and short term planning systems that facilitate extended periods of classroom teaching control, and teach the total class program for at least five consecutive days. Students participating in the program also spend eight weeks student teaching in a Michigan school.
Amicarelli has learned a lot about differentiating lessons from the teachers she’s working with. She likes the way the teachers are able to create their own lessons that both align to standards and individualize the curriculum for each student. She also appreciates the emphasis New Zealand teachers put on non-academic skills, like student independence, and strongly recommends the experience to others.
Donna Soko
Donna Soko is helping prepare juveniles for life after their release from the Berrien County Juvenile Center. A student in WMU's youth and community development program, she is working at the center as a youth specialist intern and is a part of the rehabilitation process that prepares youth to return to their communities.
During the day, she spends time with youth and supports the full-time staff. One of her main responsibilities is making sure youth at the center are maintaining their schedules. Students moving between classrooms, activity areas, therapy sessions, visitation and meeting rooms. With all of this movement, Soko is making sure they are doing what they're supposed to do.
She is also involved with the juvenile center's focus program, where she teaches students about risk management and basic social skills. Part of the focus program is youth sharing their personal experiences so they can learn from one another. She also believes some of youth are inspired by her journey to WMU.
"I've had them ask me, so you're in college and you come here?" says Soko. "Then having them have that mindset of like, we have somebody that's younger and they're coming here to help. So in a way, being a role model has been something that I feel like I can give in that part."
Maggie Schlett
Maggie Schlett has been getting her hands in the dirt and learning how to farm sustainably at Western Michigan University's Gibbs House. As part of her nutrition and dietetics internship she is getting a first hand look at growing organic produce and it's benefits for supporting a healthy lifestyle.
"I really like the idea that food is medicine, So I love learning about how nutrition can fuel your body in different ways and heal yourself from the inside out."
The Gibbs House serves as a living laboratory for WMU students to implement their sustainable design solutions and projects. Current student projects include vermicomposting demonstration, aerated composting, pollinator way-stations and more.
"We've gotten to do a lot of different activities through my internship. We also have the opportunity to work with the community and put together experiences for them," says Schlett.
