Veronica Watson, an International Studies major from South Elgin, IL participated in the 2012 CPP Program. At State Farm, she worked in the Multicultural Business Development Group. Her primary project at State Farm was the analysis of cultural competence training for associates and agents, in addition to work on the State Farm Steer Clear website for young drivers. In the community, Veronica interned at Marcfirst, a non-profit that provides services for adults and young children with developmental disabilities. Her main project included the creation of a Boy Scout Venture Crew for marcfirst’s high school students. The curriculum that Veronica wrote for the crew included the learning of soft skills, volunteering in the community, earning Venturing awards and attending larger Venturing activities, such as camping. Her time spent at marcfirst also included assisting the day-to-day operations of the School to Work summer program for high school students as well as various Friendsfirst sessions.
Here is Veronica on her ARC experience – “This summer I think I have learned the importance of adaptability and flexibility more than anything else. Needs change, projects evolve, but deadlines stay pretty firm, so if you are asked to do something you have no experience with or to completely reshape a month-long project, you still need to meet that deadline with the best product possible. And that ability to calmly change course whenever needed is a lot harder than I thought it was before this internship.”