SCC Human Services Program partners with community to place emphasis on internships

“When we last tabulated the numbers there have been more than 100 students who have completed at least one internship,” said Sylvia Bane Malta, associate professor of human services at SCC and Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

SCC student Julie Rickman, has completed two internships through the Human Services Program. “The internships have been a real wake up call for me,” said Rickman. “It was like taking blinders off, and I was able to navigate which direction I wanted to go with my career.”

“It was great to get real life experience that I could actually tie in with the curriculum at SCC,” said Rickman. “I realized that everything I was learning in college would help me in my future human services career. My education was truly applicable to the working world.” 

As part of the internship experience, each student also completes a concurrent seminar on SCC's campus. “ I loved having a seminar class that correlated with my internship,” she said. “It was a place to get support from my peers and instructors throughout the whole internship process.” 

To lay the foundation for the internship experience, students interact with community organizations and professionals in two ways before they step out into the real world.

During the Introductory to Human Services course the students are in the community visiting and interviewing human service professionals. During that same class the student also meet with professionals who visit the class as part of the curriculum. Many of these professionals are former students at SCC.

“SCC was very involved in the process of helping me finding my first internship,” said Rickman. “When it came to my second internship, I took it upon myself to find an internship, but it was nice to know that I could get SCC's help if I needed it.” 

The SCC Human Services program has placed student interns in agencies such as St. Louis Crisis Nursery, Bridgeway, Youth in Need, Preferred Family Healthcare, Sts. Joachim & Anne Care Service, Community Living, Inc., St. Louis Life, Our Lady's Inn, Connections to Success, Victims of Crime Assistance Program, Missouri Probation & Parole, and Mid-East Area Agency on Aging. 

“As a program, we are very pleased to now have a partnership between the community and SCC that not only enhances the learning experiences of the students, but also provides for the ongoing need for human services professionals in our region to help people meet their most important needs and issues,” said Bane Malta.