17 New Sparks with CIS

The 2017/18 CIS interns. (Front row, left to right): Joe Conrad, Janae McEwen, Angie Franklin, Alyssa Borkowski, and Kaleigh Walters. (Back, left to right): Alyssa Smith, Matthew Krieger, Kelsey Nimtz, Courtney Mahaffy, Kali Hancock, Dan Sullivan, Karly Poole, Travis Guerrero, Neala Smith, Kayla Garrett, and Blaec Arevalo. Not pictured: Karynn Taylor and Ernest Bell.

This is the largest group of interns CIS has yet to connect to the schools! Seventeen of the students attend Western Michigan University and one attends Spring Arbor University and is pursuing her Bachelor’s in Social Work. Of the WMU students, eight are working towards their bachelor’s degree in the School of Social Work, five towards their Master’s in Social Work, three working towards their Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Health Services and one towards their Bachelors of Science in Family Studies.

In no particular order, here are the interns and the schools’ CIS site teams they will be joining. (Drum roll, please): Dan Sullivan (Loy Norrix High School), Courtney Mahaffy (Northglade Montessori Magnet School), Kali Hancock (Maple Street Magnet School for the Arts), Kelsey Nimtz (Spring Valley Center for Exploration), Matthew Krieger (Woodward School for Technology and Research), Kayla Garrett (Hillside Middle School), Travis  Guerrero (Milwood Magnet Middle School), Karly Poole (Linden Grove Middle School), Blaec Arevalo (El Sol Elementary School), Neala Smith (Edison Environmental Science Academy), Alyssa Smith (Woods Lake Elementary: A Magnet Center for the Arts), Janae McEwen (Prairie Ridge Elementary School), Angie Franklin (Washington Writers’ Academy and Linden Grove Middle School), Neala Smith (Edison Environmental Science Academy), Alyssa Borkowski (Woodward School for Technology and Research), Joseph Conrad (Kalamazoo Central High School), Kaleigh Walters (Spring Valley Center For Exploration), Karynn Taylor (Lincoln  International Studies School), and Ernest Bell (Milwood Elementary).

We popped our quiz on these newest members of the CIS family and compiled their answers below.

Alright, interns: pencils out, eyes on your own paper. Good luck.

What is something interesting you’ve recently learned?

• Wisdom does not always come with age.
• In Norway, the maximum prison sentence is 14 years.
• How awesome Communities In Schools is!
• A Mobile Health Clinic makes stops to local KPS schools for students who need access to them.
• Boys are a group currently struggling with academics. Our CIS caseloads will be 60% boys, 40% girls.
• There is an American Sign Language minor now offered at WMU.
• Learning some Spanish here and there.
• I’ve recently been interested in Brené Brown’s work on love/belonging and shame/fear. She talks about how love is what you allow your authentic, vulnerable self to be seen and accepted, and how shame, fear, and self-doubt often get in the way.
• There is a printer that will staple your papers for you.
• How to play golf.
• All of the great resources for kids around Kalamazoo.
• A co-worker of mine used to be employed with CIS.
• New workout circuit for lower body with bands.
• Recently, I’ve learned several new ways to participate in self-care.
• The urge to kill cute things comes from evolution.
• Expanded my understanding of positive reinforcement.

 What are you currently reading?

• 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do by Amy Morin
• Whatever it Takes by Paul Tough
• This Life I Live by Rory Fleek
• The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
• My twitter feed.
• Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis
• Speak by Laura Halse Anderson
• Face to Face with God by Bill Johnson
• No book at the moment, mostly news articles
• Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
• Beginner’s Guide to Meditation
• The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida
• Social media and on-line articles
• In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
• The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and The Fault in Our Stars (for the second time) by John Green

What do you love about Kalamazoo?

• The focus and dedication the community has to helping the students.
• I think the downtown scene is very cool. There is a lot going on.
• I love that Kalamazoo is full of diverse cultures. I like eating all different types of food, going to art openings, and local festivals. Oh, also we have live music and good beer. I just went to see Verve Pipe at Bell’s Beer Garden.
• The resources available to the community.
• I love that Kalamazoo has a lot of donors and organizations that like to give back to the community.
• It’s where I grew up and, as a community, we try to support and stick together as a family.
• The food.
• How beautiful downtown is.
• I like that it is a bigger city with a lot of fun things to do.
• The complexity, yet closeness, of everything.
• The downtown culture.
• TNT and soul food.
• I love being in Kalamazoo because there is always something to do.
• The arts and diversity.
• The atmosphere. There’s always something to see and do.
• The sense of a small town and the community. It reminds me of home.

What is your favorite word right now?

• Persistence
• Accomplish
• Gnarly
• Fascination
• Endeavor
• Indeed
• Energy
• Fantastic
• Free
• Creative
• Success
• Fabulous
• Gooey
• Communication & wisdom
• Interesting
• Extremely

Will you share with us something that has been on your mind lately?

• How will I use my Master’s degree to make a positive impact of children’s lives? I am interested in being exposed to the potential job opportunities this degree will offer me.
• My girlfriend, who lives in Boston. Her name is Dulce, and she’s going to accomplish great things for vulnerable and oppressed people.
• Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the changing seasons. Fall is one of my favorite seasons so I am excited.
• The possible threat of nuclear war with North Korea.
• Moving to a whole new state and finding out where everything is at can be very overwhelming, as well as meeting new people.
• Taking advantage of every opportunity given and appreciating the little moments in life.
• Finding a way to come up with some form of a resource that can aide me on how to connect and strategically teach my current 7^th graders and how to grasp the new math curriculum of “Engage” New York Math.
• What life will be like after graduation. I often daydream about my career potential and wonder where I will be living.
• Trying to live more mindfully and in the present moment, rather than living in the past or future.
• Since I am a senior, pretty soon I’ll be applying to WMU’s Master program. It’s a long process of applying and then months of waiting. I’m hoping to be accepted into the advanced standing program.
• I would like to go back to Western and get my Master’s degree in social work. I would not mind being a school social worker since I enjoy kids. I know that I would be good working in the school system, plus I enjoy learning and helping people who want to succeed in school.
• Graduation and how close I am to finally being finished with my BS.
• Grad school and where I will be living a year from now.
• Graduation and my next step in my career. Grad school is on my mind, also the holidays.
• Post-graduation and the future.
• My future. I’m getting ready to graduate and have been thinking a lot about the future and what I’m going to do following graduation.

Behind every successful student is a caring adult. Who has been your caring adult?

• My two high school football coaches and my high school math teacher.
• My parents are my biggest support system.
• My parents.
• My mom.
• My mother has always been my caring adult.
• My brother is my caring adult.
• My father and my 19 year old daughter.
• My parents.
• My aunt.
• My mother pushed me through elementary through high school and my father has gotten me through the end of my college career.
• My momma and first high school teacher.
• My father. Just the way he speaks to me of family and friends helps keep me focused.
• My best friend, Jessica.
• My professors at Western, a few memorable instructors in particular.
• My mom. She has always been there for me, no matter what.
• My parents are both very supportive and caring.

Thank you, interns! Welcome aboard!

Tags: Alyssa Borkowski, Alyssa Smith, and Blaec Arevalo, Angie Franklin, CIS, Communities In School of Kalamazoo, Courtney Mahaffy, Dan Sullivan, Ernest Bell, interns in schools, Janae McEwen, Joe Conrad, Kalamazoo Public Schools, Kaleigh Walters, Kali Hancock, Karly Poole, Karynn Taylor, Kayla Garrett, Kelsey Nimtz, Matthew Krieger, Neala Smith, Spring Arbor University, Travis Guerrero, WMU