Interning at the Student Safety and Wellness Office

Kristen Woodward, an alumna of S-CAR, works for Fairfax Public Schools as a Conflict Resolution Specialist in the Student Safety and Wellness Office.  She started out as an intern and has assisted in developing and expanding a successful Peer Mediation and Restorative Practice program that impacts hundreds of students, teachers, counselors, and families throughout the community.  “Students who participate in peer mediation training learn conflict resolution skills that help them resolve their own conflicts and help students understand and manage conflict.  Understanding restorative practices encourages students and staff to build and strengthen relationships and to view conflict through a restorative rather than a punitive lens.”(quote from FCPS publication)

Danielle A. Davis, a current S-CAR student has been a Graduate Intern working with Kristen in developing conflict resolution curricula for grade school students.  Danielle is also conducting research to evaluate the mediation programs and to measure the effectiveness of these learned skills and make recommendations to develop and enrich partnerships to strengthen conflict resolution efforts and improvements. She is going to be working for the Student Safety and Wellness Office as a result of her successful internship with them.

Danielle's, membership in the first returning peer mediation class at West Potomac High School in 2005 and the encouragement of her mentor inspired her to pursue a degree in S-CAR.  She is able to share with students and staff the same mediation skills that were taught to her years ago!

Is there any question about the importance of an Internship? If there is an area of interest or a set of skills needed to be developed, this is the way to go! Some internships are paid and, some are not. Either way, it is a great way to build on your resume, network, and contribute to the field ( maybe even get hired!). There are hundreds of internship sites in this geographic area. If you are interested in an internship contact Lisa Shaw, Director of Student Services and Field Experience, at [email protected] and start researching your possibilities!