Internship Update: Za’Kyah Jeter-Walton

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“This year I am taking Palm 494. For this course, I had to choose an internship and I choose to intern at Spartanburg Preparatory School, which is a K-8th school. I’m interning under the school therapist and the guidance counselor. It is a charter school, so the structure of the school is very different from public school. The students have to wear uniforms and they do not have any coed classes.

I’ve been there for three weeks so far, and I’ve loved every moment. The students there are amazing and have welcomed me with nothing but love. I want to become a school therapist, so I believe I have the perfect internship with bonus points.

Growing up in a religious African American household, there was always a negative stigma against mental health. I was raised with the idea that a mental illness was a negative spirit or just fake. I wanted to create my own perspective and learned that mental illnesses are very real and effect more people than we may know. What strikes me the most is how often mental health issues are overlooked in our youth. I believe that the future starts with our youth and that we (the adults) are obligated to give them the tools for success. One of the worst things to lose in life is your mental health. I want to teach children the importance of taking care of their minds just as well as they take care of their bodies.”