Intern Adds to Summer Experience

June 17, 2019

Summer brings fresh faces to the Scott Family Amazeum when we welcome high school and college students who join our team to gain experience. Cami Hedstrom, a junior majoring in Middle-Level Education at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith, is spending the summer as a Camp Intern through the Tyson Summer Community Internship Program thanks to a grant from Tyson Foods and the United Way of Northwest Arkansas. Throughout her internship, Cami will be sharing her story. 

Cami's First Post

In October of last year, I started thinking about how I wanted to spend my last summer before starting my senior year of college. I am a Middle-Level Education Science/English Language Arts major and wanted to expand my experience in working with children and thought an internship would be the best opportunity for that. Science is my love! I fell in love with science in 5th grade thanks to my teacher Mrs. O'Neil and I want to help students find the love of science. 

My mom, Mrs. Deena Hedstrom, is the librarian at Central Park Elementary in Bentonville and has done a IMG 8140few professional development workshops at the Amazeum. After hearing about her experience, researching, and visiting the Amazeum myself, I felt like their constructivist educational philosophy and how their ideals and curriculum are centered around science, technology, engineering, arts, and math aligned with what I hope to bring into my future classroom. I really want to make learning hands-on for my future students. 

The best way for kids to learn is through experience, by discovering the knowlege themselves. 

After a few months of the application process and multiple interviews with local Tyson Foods representatives and the United Way of Northwest Arkansas, I got offered the Summer Camp Intern position at the Amazeum! I am so excited to get to work for such an amazing organization. I have been here for about two weeks now and see how their staff goes above and beyond to create meaningful, innovative, hands-on learning experiences for everyone that walks through their doors. It is just astonishing!

Halfway

There's never a dull moment at the Scott Family Amazeum, especially during summer camps. Cami's work with the education team provides her with real-life experience supporting students as they ask questions, make discoveries, and connect STEAM to the world around them. She's also experiencing the fast pace and focus required to keep kids engaging in hands-on learning. Catch up with Cami in this video blog post.

 

 

It's difficult to believe that Cami's time at the Amazeum is coming to an end. She gained valuable experience working with children through the Tyson Community Internship Program sponsored Tyson Foods and the United Way of NWA. We are grateful for her time here during the summer to support our education team in providing hands-on learning experiences for curious, creative kids. Here's what Cami has to say as her internship comes to a close. 

With only a week and a half left of my internship with the Amazeum I have been reflecting a lot about my experience, especially my favorite moments, I have gained through this extraordinary opportunity I have been given. 

I met some incredible kids. This new friend came to three of the six camps that I got to assist in this Cami blog campkidsummer and made a lasting impression on me. He had one of the best imaginations I have ever witnessed and was always a joy to just sit down and talk to about all his cool ideas that came to his head. From building a time machine, defeating evil villains, drawing sketches, and writing comic books, this kid always put a smile on my face without fail and made me excited to show up to work.

 

I met some incredible kids . . . who made a lasting impression on me. 

  

Along with this child, I loved getting to create Cami blog campkid2relationships with each kid that walked through the doors of our camps. One of the biggest things in education is having relationships with your students, and through this experience, I have loved getting to do that. Just getting down on their level, and talking and playing with them has been so much fun and I have learned so much by doing so!