How does a Roanoke College psychology student spend spend her summer? This year, senior Logan Pasley chose to intern at Youth Connect of Virginia, serving as a Mentor and Life Skills Provider.
Pasley originally hails from Penhook, Virginia and studies psychology with a minor in sociology at Roanoke. She recently began interning with Youth Connect in her hometown, an opportunity she pursued because “I have always wanted to work with children.” Additionally, Pasley’s goal was to learn more about the foster care system and how it can be improved.
Pasley works remotely for Youth Connect in a paid position while earning course credit, a great example of the wide variety of internship opportunities for psychology majors.
As Mentor and Life Skills Provider, Pasley develops a one-on-one relationship with young clients. When meeting a new client, she learns about their background and uses the Casey Life skills assessment to evaluate “life skills in daily living, self-care, relationships, communication, respect, education, work, etc.” Pasley uses this information to design and implement a six-month plan of action for each client.
Pasley’s work with clients is very hands-on. Each session, her job is “to plan a day in which the client is exposed to activities in the community. I allow my clients to choose a specific goal or task to get accomplished throughout the day and then take them to the most appropriate location to accomplish this goal.”
This work allowed Pasley to develop important skills. She says,
“I learned a way of communicating with individuals who struggle with trauma, mental illness, and grueling circumstances.”
After a full summer of working with Youth Connect, Pasley took the time to reflect on her growth and the impact she’s had on her clients. In what she describes as the most meaningful moment from her internship, Pasley’s was reunited with the first client she ever worked with. She remembers,
“the client’s face lit up when I walked into the room. Her DSS [Department of Social Services] worker added that the client found her voice through me and rediscovered her purpose.”
After her experience working with clients one-on-one, Pasley now wants to turn her attention to the legal system, focusing on “the structural issues that affect every individual involved with the legal system.” She says a change is overdue and is passionate about addressing unseen issues.
We can’t wait to see how Logan Pasley continues to change lives at Youth Connect and beyond!
Are you interested in completing your own internship as a psychology student? Visit the department’s internship page or contact Dr. Findley-Van Nostrand at findely@roanoke.edu.
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