It’s 9:30 a.m. My alarm clock goes off. I roll over, look at the time and hit snooze. 9:35 a.m. The loud buzzing of my alarm clock just won’t stop, so I sit up, wiping the sleepies away from my eyes. Do I really have to leave the warmth of my cozy bed? My apartment is always so chilly in the morning. But I must admit sleeping in until 9:30 a.m. is a treat for me.

For the past four months I have gotten up by 7:30 a.m. on Monday and Wednesday mornings, a horrific time for a college student to have to get up. I had to travel to Main Street in Kutztown where I did my internship with Big Bear Promotions.

Big Bear is a promotional agency that was formed about four years ago by Jason Horowitz. They sell customized promotional products like pens, mugs, magnets, etc., and do things like event planning and web design. So sleeping in until 9:30 a.m. this particular morning is nice. That is, until I think about all the things I have to do today.

Although classes have ended and the last day of my internship was last week, finals week, a culmination of everything I have done all semester, is here. So I still have a packed schedule tying up all the loose ends of the past semester.

Looking back now I realize how busy I’ve been.

I have so many interests and this semester I really worked hard to incorporate all of them into my work. Some were academic and some got me involved out in the community. The support of my advisors and recommendations from other faculty members were essential in providing me with these opportunities.

Dr. Rodney Warfield, chair of the education department, sparked my interest in educational theatre during interim session last year. I took an educational theatre class that he taught with Jennifer Thalman, a 1998 Albright graduate.

They were also assisted by Dr. Lynn Morrow, the newly retired director of Albright’s theatre department. Hoping to further pursue this interest, I met with Dr. Warfield and intended to do an independent study. Unfortunately, plans fell through. However, I did have the opportunity to run a small educational theatre program during the summer at a camp in Croyden, Pa., my hometown.

“I have so many interests and this semester I really worked hard to incorporate all of them into my work.” – Kathleen Gaynor

My advisor, Dr. Al Cacicedo, professor of English, was also a big help to me. Through regular meetings, he helped me to fulfill the requirements for my internship, which was an incredible experience.

I even found out about the internship from an Albright faculty member. Wayne Vettleson, the theatre’s technical director, received a phone call from Matika Palmer, the art director at Reading’s Police Athletic League (PAL). She needed a student to run a theatre program and Wayne thought of me. I contacted Dr. Warfield, called Matika Palmer, and finally had my independent study underway.

Now, in the last week of the semester I look forward to finishing everything I have gotten involved in. As I entered the fall semester of my senior year I didn’t expect to have a chance to participate in so many wonderful opportunities. I’m especially excited to pick up my evaluation from Big Bear on Tuesday and attend my students’ final performance at PAL on Wednesday.

But I also have work to complete for other classes: a topical unit on science, math and social studies for the last education class I will be taking at Albright, as well as a final for a communications class. A topical unit consists of ten lesson plans for a classroom incorporating science, math and social studies. In my four years of studying education at Albright I have done numerous units, including a full thematic unit. It is really interesting to create your own plans for a classroom, and apply your way of teaching to the material. It’s hard to believe that this is the last unit I will have to do for a class at Albright.

I also keep thinking about auditions for the Domino Player’s production of Alice in Wonderland. That will take place immediately when I return to school in January.

As I climb out of bed thinking about all the things I look forward to doing today I see my roommate across the hall working on her topical unit. With just an hour before lunch and my stomach growling, I plant myself on the couch in front of the TV and gather some books. My plan is to figure out what I need to do the rest of the week, make some sense of it, and figure out when it can get done. After organizing my thoughts, I look at my take home final and begin taking notes. I plan to complete the final this afternoon while my roommate is at work. However, right now I realize the noise of my stomach overpowers the thoughts in my head. This must mean it’s time for lunch.

“At my internship I received hands-on experience and was able to see what it would be like to work in the field”. - Kathleen Gaynor

My roommate, Tara, and I head down to lunch, where I take time to relax. I always thought lunch was the most relaxing time of the day, and the most social. We eat and then head out to the bookstore to get supplies for our topical unit, and do a little Christmas shopping. Entering the bookstore, I walk past a long line of people selling books and it reminds me that I need to do that, too. It’s always nice to have a little extra cash. After shopping we head out to the Campus Center where we find a bunch of our friends. We sit and hang out for a while, but I realize I can’t keep putting off the inevitable fact that I have work to do. When I finally get enough motivation, I gather my things and head back to the apartment.

When I get home, I meander over to the computer where I type away for three hours. I begin by completing my take-home final for my Mass Communications and Society class. I just added communications to my major at the end of last semester after taking Dr. Edward Trayes’ Public Relations and Advertising class which I found to be very interesting.

The Public Relations and Advertising course took a lot of time last semester. We had a wide variety of projects to do, like creating our own advertisements. We also designed billboards, product packaging, brochures, t-shirts and business cards. We even designed a full promotional plan, including a budget, for a small company of our choice. I chose to do a small theatre company and my knowledge of theatre was a big help. We also shadowed an advertising professional at work. This was a big help for me, and led to my decision to add communications to my major and start looking for an internship.

Adding communications to my dual major of theatre/elementary education meant a lot more work, but it was worth it. Until spring of my junior year I never had to think about getting an internship because as an education major I knew I would be student teaching. But when I added communications I learned that an internship is required to graduate. Looking back now, I can’t imagine not having had this experience.

After I finish my take-home final, I move on to writing the reflection paper about my internship. I am extremely happy that I had the opportunity to take this internship with Big Bear Promotions. Prior to this, I had the opportunity to be in a school and observe what goes on during my early field experience class. I have also been very active in Albright’s drama program, and was inducted into the Domino Players last year. But I never had the chance to explore my interest in the field of communications. At my internship I received hands-on experience and was able to see what it would be like to work in the field.

Now, I have just enough time to eat some dinner before I have to head down to PAL for our final rehearsal before Wednesday’s performance. Every Monday night for the past month I have worked with students from PAL on a theatre presentation. We started out by doing different activities to help the students develop their character, creativity and imagination, and to feel comfortable around each other. I learned most of these activities in my educational theatre class, but I also used some that I had learned when I took theatre classes in high school. Eventually we began to work on a final performance and tonight is the dress rehearsal.

When I arrive at PAL I am surprised to see we’re not meeting in our usual room. We usually meet in a large room with tables and chairs and just enough open space to do our activities. Tonight, however, we’re working on the stage in Reading’s beautiful Performing Arts Center. It is perfect for our final rehearsal.

I am very pleased with how smoothly things run. Up until tonight we had never done a full run-through of all the scenes. Tonight, we were able to accomplish two run-throughs. The first one was a little rocky, but by the second one the students had a firm grasp on what was going on. We had some difficulties at first with the microphones and the music. And Jazmine, a girl with a beautiful voice who was singing in the show, had a cold and couldn’t hit all the notes. So, at the last minute, we changed the song she was singing, but she still did a great job.

In the final performance, Jazmine will be singing twice, but her second song is my favorite. The song sends out a positive message about violence, thinking before you act, and prejudice. During the song the group stands at the back of the stage, each one holding a sign with a positive message on it. They take turns walking to the front and showing their signs while Jazmine is singing.

With Jazmine’s incredible voice, the hard work that the kids put into this production, and the positive message they are sending, I get chills every time I watch it. It represents the reason I wanted to do this program and how proud I am that I had this opportunity. This was one of my favorite experiences this year. It was difficult because the students didn’t want to participate at first, but the fact that I was able to motivate them to be involved made me feel wonderful.

As I drive back to my apartment from PAL I think about all I have done in the past semester and about the direction I want to take in the spring when I graduate. Here at Albright I was able to explore all my interests, and in working closely with faculty, to connect many of them. I am still uncertain which area I would like to pursue in my future. When I am at Big Bear Promotions I am interested in the communications field, but then when I work with the students at PAL and see them accomplish something so great I feel I want to pursue a field that involves working with kids. Either way I know I want to keep theatre as a big part of my future. I can tie it in with communications or education. That’s the great thing about Albright. I have so many choices.

As the fall semester of my senior year draws to a close and I face my last semester at Albright, I feel I’m equipped and prepared to face anything that comes my way. Albright has taught me how to learn from different perspectives and has given me the opportunity to connect fields of learning that I never even thought of before. Although, at the moment, I don't know exactly what I want to do after graduation, I do know that I’ll be prepared for whatever path I decide to take.

After a long and busy day, I pull into my parking space, make it back into my apartment and return to the same place I began my day -- on the couch in front of the TV. I gather my notes, organize my thoughts, and begin writing. After all, I do have a take-home final with eight essays to complete!began my day -- on the couch in front of the TV. I gather my notes, organize my thoughts, and begin writing. After all, I do have a take-home final with eight essays to complete!