All Children and Society students are required to participate in at least two Connecting Experiences as part of their BDP work. Take a look at what some Children and Society students have done recently for their BDP Connecting Experiences, then read on for additional information and resources.
Spotlights
Advising
Resources
Past Connecting Experiences
Major: Radio-Television-Film
Type of Experience: Internship
Mentor: Kathleen Tyner, Radio-Television-Film
During the fall 2009 semester, Leslie is interning with the “Biscuit Brothers”:http://www.biscuitbrothers.com, an Emmy award winning children’s television program. This locally produced show is dedicated to providing educational programming that introduces preschoolers to musical concepts and other arts related content. Working with the Biscuit Brothers will give Leslie and opportunity to learn about strategies for teaching young children as well as hands-on experience with television production.
Major: Psychology
Type of Experience: Research
Mentor: Barbara Jones, Social Work
In Spring 2009, Michelle Lenihan worked on a research project investigating pediatric palliative care and childhood cancer survivors with Professor Barbara Jones from the School of Social Work and the Institute for Grief, Loss, and Family Survival. Her specific responsibilities included gathering literature, reviewing articles, developing a survey, and attending lectures and meetings at the Dell Children’s Medical Center. Michelle came away from this Connecting Experience with a deeper understanding of end-of-life care for children and the impact of childhood illness on families.
See also Past Connecting Experiences Spotlights for Children and Society.
Marion Rocco, the Connecting Experiences advisor for Children and Society, can help you in find research and internship experiences that connect to your major and your career plans. Call 232-7564 to make an appointment with Marion. Remember to plan ahead — if you want to be in a connecting experience next semester, you should be planning for it now!
All students participating in a Connecting Experience will be required to attend two meetings during the semester, where you will have the opportunity to talk with advisors and other students about how your experience is going, and where you’ll learn about how to talk about and build on your experience in the future. Please see the Connecting Experiences Resources page under Current Students for details.
For Connecting Experiences guidelines, contract forms, scholarship applications, reflection essay guidelines, internship sponsor forms, and important deadlines, please see the Connecting Experiences Resources page under Current Students.
The EUREKA Web site provides a variety of resources, including scholarship information and a database of faculty research interests.
Important: There is no “list” of possible Connecting Experiences to choose from — because Connecting Experiences are designed to fit your own personal interests and goals, the “list” is as long as your imagination and creativity allow. With that in mind, here are some of the internship and research experiences Children and Society students have had in the past. They might help you get started brainstorming what you might want to do for your Connecting Experiences.
“The BDP has been the most influential educational opportunity that I have had at The University of Texas at Austin. I plan to pursue a career in teaching and to forever remain an advocate for the rights and welfare of children because of the many important lessons I have learned through the BDP.”