What Lenbrook Has Taught Me


Sydney is 3rd from the left.

Maya Angelou said once: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said; people will forget what you did; but, people will never forget how you made them feel.” My intern experience at Lenbrook has been fascinating. Most of all, Lenbrook made me feel like I had another home.

 
My name is Sydney Taylor and I go to Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School. Every student works as an intern all four years of high school. I’m in the 10th grade. So Lenbrook is my second internship. Last year I worked for OBGYN Atlanta. And this year, I got Lenbrook on “Draft Day.” I was so excited to actually get to experience the environment and the residents.
 
The first day of work, I was really nervous because I wanted to make a good impression on the staff. I got my picture ID and was paired up with Ms. Rochelle Valsaint in Marketing and Ms. Shondrella Little and Ms. Sherika Woods, who are over Activities for the Healthcare residents.
 
Working with Ms. Rochelle is like working with a second mom. She constantly asks about my grades and how I’m doing in school. In Marketing, I help with administrative tasks and upload the blog posts from residents or Lenbrook workers. Now I am writing my own blog!
 
Sometimes when I get an assignment, I worry about messing it up. And sometimes I do. I had to remind myself that it’s ok to mess up, just not on the same thing. Working with Ms. Rochelle has been such a nice experience. I’m still working on being time-efficient in everything that I do. But I get done what needs to be done for Ms. Rochelle.
 
Working with Ms. Shondrella and Ms Sherika has been fun. I’ve played ball toss and I help at Socials of all different kinds, like preparing flower vases for the residents to make flower arrangements.
 
One thing I really like about working with Ms. Shondrella and Ms. Sherika is that they always keep the Healthcare residents engaged. They talk with the residents, help paint their nails, bake cookies or other desserts with them, and provide personal care.
 
When I first got to the Healthcare floors, I thought it would be like a dull, old-fashioned nursing home. But when I started working with Ms. Shondrella and Ms. Sherika, it changed my viewpoint a “mega lot!” I started having fun and, I started warming up to the residents.
 
My favorite times are the weekly activities. The residents have so much fun, too, whether it’s an entertainer or Ms.Shondrella and Ms.Sherika. My most fun and memorable experience is when we all played ball toss.
In essence, my experience at Lenbrook has taught me three things:
1. Be open to growth
2. Be intellectually competent, and
3. Be loving.
 
Lenbrook showed me how to be open to growth by showing me how to communicate efficiently. They showed me how to be intellectually competent by showing me new things and new ways to complete tasks. And they showed me how to be loving to others and to myself, even with our flaws.  Lenbrook made me feel like I had another home.
 
Sydney Taylor is a rising 11th grader at Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School. She and three other students completed an internship at Lenbrook as a part of their unique educational experience – a college prepatory education and corporate work-study program.