Michelle is a 3^rd year student of the Bachelor of Social Work program at Carleton University. As part of the program, students are required to complete a certain amount of work hours at a placement. Michelle's considers herself fortunate to have started her placement at BBBSO last September. Read on to find out what she has been up to.

"Most of you are probably well aware that BBBSO is a nonprofit agency that creates matches between Bigs and Littles, and the primary job of the staff here is to coordinate volunteer matching and run the various programs BBBSO offers. I was placed under the supervision of Eric Lapierre, who is the coordinator of the Mentoring In School program. As the staff here welcomed me and the other placement students with open arms, I quickly became familiar with the programs the agency offers, the processes of initial contact with a volunteer, follow-ups and terminations, and how to use the database offered. In only a couple of months I was trusted as competent and reliable enough to start handling cases independently, and was able to perform my first unsupervised interviews.

Not only do I spend time doing administrative work, but I have been fortunate enough to take on the role of a regular volunteer. I currently participate in two of the programs; Mentoring in School and Go Girls! have allowed me to experience both sides of being involved with BBBSO. This has been a fantastic opportunity, and I have to admit that seeing my kids is the highlight of my day. Last semester I completed one Go Girls! program, and will be starting my second one next week. To say that it has been challenging at times would be an understatement, but it has been a fabulous learning experience and I have enjoyed spending time in a group and allowing my leadership skills to grow. During my first semester I spent time with a boy in grade 6, who was truly a pleasure to know. We would play games like basketball, catch, chess, do puzzles or crafts, and bake! Unfortunately his family moved over the holidays, and I was quite disappointed to see him go. Now however, I've started 2 new matches with both girls, one in grade 7 and the other in grade 8, and I'm excited to get to know them better and develop a friendship.

My time here at BBBSO has been a great learning experience and I've had a lot of fun moments that I'm sure I will carry with me for a long time into the future."