Luther College junior interns at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp

Luther College junior Sarah Eachus traveled to Hillside, Colorado, to intern at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp, where she served as a counselor with children ages 6-18. She was involved in planning, executing and supervising different activities, as well as traveling to different churches around the Rocky Mountain Synod to work with elementary age children in both large and small group settings.

Eachus, the daughter of Tom and Diane Eachus of Waterloo, Iowa, is a 2016 graduate of Waterloo West High School. She is currently a psychology major and religion minor at Luther.

While at Rainbow Trail, Eachus was able to work on development and attachment theories she learned in the classroom at Luther to real life scenarios with the children at the camp. She was also able to work on developing skills such as leadership, communication, problem solving, and conflict resolution, both with campers and other staff members.

“While working with kids can be challenging, it also has the potential to be an extremely powerful experience, which was what I experienced this past summer. Helping children overcome obstacles and being a pillar of support for them is very rewardling, knowing I could be making a difference in their lives,” said Eachus.

Eachus believes that her experiences during her internship have taught her about how to interact and develop relationships with a variety people of different ages. She said, “I came to realize that the major I have chosen and my interest in working with youth is exactly what I want to do in life at this point. I am passionate about the opportunities that exist in working with this population and am eager to learn more.”

According to Eachus, one of the greatest outcomes from her internship would be that it affirmed her interest in working with children and reinforced her goal to pursue a career in psychology. “I now know I want to work in a clinical setting focusing on mental health needs of children and adolescents, and their families. Realizing this has helped me determine the next step toward my goal, which will be to pursue a master’s degree in psychology,” she said.

Approximately 10 percent of Luther students take an internship for academic credit each academic year. The Luther College Career Center assists students with their internship search through resume preparation, networking, online internship searches, career fairs, on-campus interviewing, and connecting the student to alumni through the college’s Alumni Internship Program. Students also meet with a faculty adviser prior to the internship to create an internship learning plan that includes learning goals and assessment benchmarks. An internship work supervisor assists in the process by writing an evaluation of the student at the end of the internship. Students also complete a self-reflection form to help finalize the learning experience.