Taste of what's to come

This morning I went down to 60 Lafayette Street... aka Manhattan Family Courthouse... to meet with my field placement supervisor for the first time and get an overview of what she does and what I'll be doing. I've been placed with the Legal Aid Society in the Juvenile Rights division. GREAT meeting today and I'll tell you more about it but first allow me to back up a day.

Since I had some time on my hands and I wanted to make I didn't get lost the morning I was supposed to be there at a specific time, I did a test run from my apartment to the courthouse. Super easy, took about 25 minutes. Instead of turning around and going right back home, I decided to sit for awhile in the park across the street. I found a nice looking bench far away from where the hundreds of pigeons were taking baths.

(Side note: I've been doing really well with the birds around here! My heart still beats fast and I hold my breath.. and sometimes duck... when they are flying at me or by me but I've been able to walk by them without freaking out.)

A few minutes later I was joined by a woman who also mentioned she chose this location because the birds were far away. She also mentioned she was on her lunch break and then would have to run to another court. I asked her what she did and we struck up a great conversation. She works in a probation office but has worked as a group home manager in the past. We talked about what I'm doing here and she said the office I'm going to work with is great. She had fascinating stories of what she's dealt with in the past and it got me so inspired and excited about the work I have ahead of me. This conversation with her was well needed because earlier that morning I'd been questioning my choice of leaving my steady job and home to come to the city, live off student loans and go to school. What was I thinking? Was that the right choice? After speaking with this woman, also named Sarah, I felt much better again. I think I just needed a little encouragement for me to say yes, I did make the right decision and look what I have to look forward to!

So today I went back to 60 Lafayette to meet with Sheneka, my supervisor. She is fabulous. She was so friendly, introduced me to everyone around and walked me through what exactly the role of a social worker is within our division of Legal Aid. Carolyn, a young lawyer, sat with us and explained what her role is. Both Sheneka AND Carolyn graduated from Fordham and I took that as a great sign. After talking a little bit, Sheneka had to go to court for a case and asked me to come along and observe. I had no clue I'd actually be going into the court and observing a case today! During the proceeding I took notes so I could ask her questions about what was going on. There was a lot of information for me to take in today but wow, I am extremely excited to get to September 20th when my field placement there actually starts. It's probably not going to be the easiest placement and I know I'll see and hear things that aren't the most comfortable subjects to talk about but I also know I'll learn a lot. All the people I met today seem like they're going to be great teachers too.

There are quite a few reasons I chose to attend Fordham, which is actually the only school I applied to. One is the specialization they have in Global Service. The other is how hands on the learning is. The classroom instruction only happens once a week. They really want you to learn by experience which is why they have us do field placement all day, three days a week. It's kind of a little philosophy that spilled over from JMU for me and I loved that. Learning from a book and in the classroom is great but there's nothing better than really being in it, learning by doing.