Volunteer Profile: Emily Kennedy

Posted on April 25, 2020

It’s nearing the end of National Volunteer Week (2020) but we are still interviewing some of our amazing Carizon volunteers to highlight those who donate their time and talent to our community.

Our final profile goes to Emily Kennedy, a student-volunteer at Carizon:

Tell us a little bit about yourself.	I am a soon-to-be Master of Social Work graduate who enjoys writing poetry, board games, and live music.
What is your volunteer/student role?	I was a clinical intern/placement student for Clinical Counselling Services from Wilfrid Laurier University.
How long have you been with Carizon?	8 months
Why did you choose Carizon?	I chose Carizon because it allowed me the opportunity to gain clinical skills, learn about community services and partnerships, and offered a lot of different learning opportunities from Lunch and Learns. I also liked that I would work with many student interns as it gave me the opportunity to learn from others and feel more connected.
What do you enjoy most about working with us?	I enjoyed getting to work with a variety of clients and having an awesome team and supervisors to debrief with.
Tell us about some of the skills you’ve been able to use and/or develop.	I have gained skills in building therapeutic rapport, in administering cognitive, brief, and mindfulness-based interventions and in writing timely and effective notes. I also learned about validation, empathy, and group facilitation.
What would you tell someone who was considering volunteering or doing their student placement with us?	Carizon provides students with a community and a compassionate and open environment to learn, ask questions, and find joy in their work. Carizon cares about their students and volunteers, encourages them, and provides them with feedback.

Thank you, Emily! It’s because of you that we can help families thrive in their communities!

If you’re interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities with Carizon, please visit our Volunteer Page.