Volunteer Spotlight

Meet Sophia Szostek - Intern for Ark Shelter

I am currently a sophomore student at Western Michigan University and I am majoring in psychology with a human developmental minor. After I get my bachelors, I plan on going to grad school to get a masters in a counseling program and to hope to achieve becoming a therapist. I chose CCDOK because I felt like this place was going to give me the best learning experience that would benefit me for any future careers that I end up with.

I hope to learn and gain new skills that I would not be able to learn in a classroom setting and being able to apply my prior knowledge from my psychology classes with the interactions that I could have while being at CCDOK.

The things that I have enjoyed about the internship is learning about the program as a whole and being able to interact with the youth.

Meet Danielle Shemanski - Intern for Ark Shelter

I chose to intern at the Ark to help in my professional and educational development. I am pursuing a degree in Family Science and Human Development with a concentration in Family Studies at Western Michigan University. I also am planning to attend Western's Marriage/Couple and Family Counseling Masters program next fall. My dream is to become certified as a counselor and work in a nonprofit setting. I previously volunteered at Caring Network and loved my experience there which influenced me to pursue an internship with the CCDOK.

I hope to grow my professional skills in social services while interning with CCDOK. I also hope to gain a greater understanding of where I want my career path to lead. During this internship, I am excited to work with the youth and see how the program runs. I have already learned a lot about interacting with the youth, the paperwork process, running group sessions, and family resource management. I am excited to grow my confidence in this field through this internship.

My favorite part about interning at the Ark is interacting with the youth. I enjoy spending time with them and helping them grow during their stay at the Ark. The staff at the Ark is another part of that I enjoy. They are all so kind and helpful which has helped me succeed. The environment at the Ark has been so positive and I am grateful for this opportunity.