Community Partner: St. Francis Neighborhood Center
Intern: Kaetlyn Bernal
Site Supervisor: Torbin Green
What is the St. Francis Neighborhood Center?
St. Francis Neighborhood Center is committed to breaking the cycles of
poverty through education, inspiring self‐esteem, self‐improvement, and
strengthening connections to the community.
My time at the St. Francis Neighborhood Center has allowed me to immerse myself
into a community I did not know existed within the city of Baltimore. My abilities
were tested from day one when I was tasked with managing youth close to my age
in their first job, lesson planning for a class of 18 students eight to ten years old,
and even getting into an accident on my bike ride home. Moving forward, I was
able to move past the title of teacher and became both a mentor and a friend to
the students in the center which allowed me to gain a larger perspective of the
community I now saw as my home. I walk down the streets before and after work
expecting to hear students and other community members comfort me in their
neighborhood with their “Hellos,” “Goodbyes,” and even, “Ms. Kaetlyn, can I catch
a Pokemon while you wait for your ride?” These small moments in my day remind
me that—in eight short weeks—I have made an impact in the lives of the youth and
other community members that come through our center. My ultimate goal for
this summer was to develop relationships with the students in the center to better
understand the needs of a community tainted with poverty, violence, racism, drug
trafficking, and more. I was able to do just that with the support and opportunities
offered to me through Hopkins, the CIIP Program, and St. Francis. As I move
forward with my education, I truly feel as though this program has solidified my
future plans to improve the lives of those around me through a career of non‐profit
work. I was given the opportunity to not only be a teacher, but to become a student
myself and truly learn and be challenged by the students I was lucky enough to
teach this summer. One of the most rewarding aspects of this summer was that no
day was like another with every challenge, surprise, tear shed, laugh shared, and
hug given amongst the children I now consider family. The resilience of the youth
and community members surrounding St. Francis has inspired me and given me a
new perspective in how I can truly create impact everywhere I go.
‐ Kaetlyn
Tasks:
● Created lesson plans for and taught a class of
18 students eight to ten years old.
● Managed, mentored, and taught financial
literacy lessons created by myself to six
YouthWorkers in their first jobs.
● Assisted supervisors and other staff with daily
program tasks such as grocery bag programs
for the community
● Created community projects for the students in
the center to engage in
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