Jennifer Jones
- Internship as a Community Support Facilitator with the Self-Determination
Project, Spring 2003
- Degree: M.S., Counseling, May 2003
- Current position: East TN Resource Specialist, Project BRAIN
In December of 2002, I began working with the Center on Disability
and Employment (CDE) as an intern with the position of Community
Support Facilitator with the Self-Determination Project. At the
time I was a Master’s Degree student in UT’s Rehabilitation
Counseling program, which I completed in May 2003. I was so happy
to find an internship that allowed me the opportunity to learn and
to participate in such a diverse environment. I developed awareness
of the various projects and the common goals of CDE and found myself
playing a small, but very special role in the bigger picture of
CDE.
Self-determination was a term that I had never heard of before
I began my internship. I understood the meaning of the word, but
only after I had the chance to completely immerse myself in the
daily interactions with the individuals we serve did I really come
to know self-determination.
To me, self-determination is about looking inwardly and learning
about yourself. It involves knowing more about the things you want
and making intelligent decisions about how to plan your goals. Beyond
goal planning, self-determination is about becoming a self-advocate
and taking action to fulfill your dreams – taking your future
into your own hands. Clearly, this concept is not disability specific.
In my opinion, every person should have the opportunity to experience
the process of becoming self-determined. In becoming self-determined,
a person gains the tools necessary to be a self-advocate. Being
a self-advocate is vital not only to those with disabilities, but
to everyone that wants to have a voice in his or her life.
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As a Community Support Facilitator, I had the pleasure of teaching
self-determination classes at local schools. I also co-facilitated
the classes at centers for adults with disabilities as well as train-the-trainer
classes for other service providers. Sharing this curriculum with
others and seeing the results in individuals who may not have been
self-advocates before the classes has been very special to me.
Knowing that the work that I did was directly benefiting others
was a great feeling. I always knew I would only be happy in a job
that allowed me to help others to have better lives. What I did
not expect was to gain so much personally. The classes were not
simply a set of guidelines to follow; they provided a path of empowerment
for participants. Interestingly, the power already lies within each
individual, and he/she ends up teaching each other and myself at
least as much as they learn from the class.
I enjoyed training students and adults, but also really valued
the experience I had interviewing individuals as part of the research
for the Self-Determination Project. Working one-on-one with individuals
and learning about their personal experiences within the classes
was enlightening. I realized that the time spent developing the
curriculum, the research, and the plans for the future was more
than worthwhile; it was instrumental. Later I explored opportunities
to offer the class to more students while continuing to develop
my own knowledge of self-determination.
Learning from my coworkers and from the individuals our program
serves was like a second time around in graduate school for me.
I loved being in a job that provided me with an ongoing education
in this fascinating, evolving field of disability services.
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