I Am Gladney Pittsburgh

I have been at Gladney for 3.5 academic semesters now and with my last semester half way over, now is a good time to share some reflections.

In starting my internship at Gladney I knew very little about adoption and practice. I had read quite a bit, followed news stories, watched lots of movies and TV specials, but I was very disconnected from the practice. Fortunately I connected with the Pittsburgh PA worker, Cheryl Parkhil, who has been more than generous in sharing the adoption world with me. I have done Home Studies, Post Placements, worked with Birth Mothers and even been to Texas to see our work and meet staff.
I was really inspired by what I saw in Texas. Gladney truly is a wonderful organization, focused on the best service delivery and a continued goal of hope.

I know now more than ever than I want to stay in this field as a professional. I want to experience the highs and lows of working with people at all stages of this highly emotional process. Connecting with people, understanding their situation, having empathy for them and celebrating their joys are all skills that take great time to acquire and refine. I have been fortunate to work with an agency that has perfected these skills and is eager to assist me in developing my own.

I have felt honored to be a part of the Gladney team and will always be supportive of this incredible agency!

I AM Gladney Pittsburgh :)

Comments

It's not Business, It's Personal

Well, it is the beginning of my second full week here at Gladney as an intern, and it has been wonderful! I think that my favorite part about being here, besides the free cake that randomly shows up in the break room, is the people that are here. I have felt continually supported by each person I come in contact with. Each time I ask a question, or look lost, I am anwered with a smiling face and a helpful attitude! So, thank you Gladney staff! :) As I am typing this, I am overhearing a conversation with a caseworker and one of their clients, and the caseworker is getting to tell the family that they will be able to travel to visit a child in the next month! On the phone the mother started crying at the thought of, possibly , seeing their new baby in a month...and then I started crying as I recognized how special and personal this work is. What is done here touches lives, not only the families lives, but the staff's (and intern's) as well! That family will be changed from today ...

Training at Gladney

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Social Media, Bookmarks

Today I kind of played catchup, but in the process I encountered some interesting projects that Gladney is working on. First, I signed Gladney up for Gowalla.com and Foursquare.com . If you do not know anything about these websites (as I was) they essentially are forums for you to visit locales in your city and give tips or reviews of them. It is really interesting and they are utilized mainly though mobile devices, a medium that is growing faster than the Internet did in the early 90s. So, if you love your iPhone apps, download the Gowalla and Foursquare apps and go visit the Visitor's Center and the Gladney Center for Adoption! Now moving in a different direction, I also began working on a project to turn artwork made for Gladney's book covers into bookmarks. These bookmarks would be left at various outreach events at schools, etc. The current artwork is a really unique piece of grafitti that was made especially with Gladney in mind. It is made up of words that embody Gl...

A Day in the Life of a Gladney Intern

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