Well I found out about this career during the spring semester of my freshman year. I was at a crossroads between majors of being undecided and staying with Education. I was introduced to this wonderful major without a lick of knowledge that it even existed. I always knew that I wanted to work with children since I was younger since I was a nanny for years and helped around my mom's classroom. I did a ton of research of this career within a hospital setting and I fell in love. I thought "Where has this been all my life?" Aquinas did not have the specific major of Child Life as many colleges around the Grand Rapids area did not have the major either. I met with a career counselor at Aquinas to understand more about other options to pursue this career. She told me that she has heard rumors of the major of Child Life will come to Aquinas during the school year of 2018-2019 which would be my senior year. For the end of my sophomore year, I was a Psychology major and finishing the requirements for the major and moving quickly to core classes to take for the fall semester. Then the word got out that Child Life was coming to the fall semester at Aquinas, where I was super excited as the major came early than expected.
The profession of child life will continue to meet the needs of infants, children, youth, and families as they cope with the stress and uncertainty of illness, injury and treatment. The philosophy and practice of child life will be applicable to any healthcare setting and transferable to other community settings or situations in which the potential for infants, children and youth to cope, learn, and master is placed at risk. The services provided by child life professionals will be evidence-based, developmentally-appropriate interventions that include therapeutic play, preparation and education to reduce fear, anxiety and pain.
Now in my junior year, I am taking my Intro to Child Life class and every time I learn more ideas and concepts to becoming a better Child Life Specialist. I enjoy learning about how to handle certain situations around the hospital, working with a medical play dolls and the different concepts of theories. I have completed the necessary hours for volunteering in a hospital setting and now I am working on my application for practicums. My goal is to hopefully be accepted in a practicum by the spring semester of my senior year which will lead into my internship.
