(2020) A Day in the Life of... Fatima Jimenez

By: Fatima Jimenez (Casa Romero) 

This summer I am working with Casa Romero Renewal Center in the Southside of Milwaukee, as the Arts Intern for all the camps. Before I begin describing my day as an intern, I wanted to introduce myself! My name is Fatima Jimenez and I have been involved with Casa Romero during all my years in high school and hope to continue doing so during my college experience. I will be an incoming freshman at Marquette University where I am enrolled as a secondary education, spanish, and history major. I strive to continue working with kids in my professional career.

Since everything has been virtual for us this summer we had to switch things up quite a bit, making our typical days look unexpectedly weird. On a regular day of my internship I wake up and eat breakfast. Then I struggle to get my sister out of bed as she is one of the students in our programs. We both try to look as decent as possible for our Zoom calls and head over to our workspace or somewhere quiet where we can pay attention since being in the same room sometimes drives us crazy. I gather my things together and check in with my supervisor to make sure we have everything ready to begin the call. Our camps are all unique making each day they all look different. The one I have been able to partake in the most these past few weeks consists of many developed and complex conversations with teenagers. So, the first thing we do is get the kids in the mood for a conversation to start or to get them comfortable enough with us to open up. Sometimes we get into smaller group sessions to increase participation, which has given me the opportunity to lead activities and discussions. When we are done in a small group we get back into the large group meeting and share with everyone so all of our insights are included. Whether our conversations are about time management, self-confidence, or social justice, we always take something away from it when the call has ended. 

On a day we focus on our Art Club Camp, we sometimes head down to Casa Romero to do some onsight work. These past weeks we have been working on the art kits the kids will be picking up as we continue to work remotely for our camps. Assembling the kits consists of constructing cardboard boxes, rolling up bundles or yarn, collecting materials for at-home projects, and/or getting them ready for pick-up. Our Art Club Camp will be starting next week and I am very excited! Still, a bit hesitant as we will be working with a younger group of kids, typically middle schoolers. 

On a different note, during these first few weeks we did see some challenges arise. Like many other organizations, making the virtual change was difficult in adjusting to ways in which to engage the students and participants. In order to give the kids a sense of comfort, we began the camp by asking questions about how the students were feeling towards the pandemic, what they had done to cope with it, and how they felt going forward. This not only united the students by giving them common ground but it opened up a discussion everyone could contribute to. Additionally, we address the political unrest and the human rights movements going on in the country at the moment. Although this called for a more extensive and thorough discussion, it also opened doors to uncomfortable feelings that are meant to be discussed, especially with the younger generations. At first, we struggled with getting the students to participate in discussions so we did practice rounds and activities that helped us practice how to get their attention and encourage them to share . We also talked about different ways to improve our leadership skills and our supervisor gave us some important tips in doing so. Additionally, we struggled to get the kids in a comfortable position with us as we could not have any physical interactions, so we went forward by addressing the problem and letting them know that we knew what they were feeling because it was the same for us. While we did not have full participation from all the students the entire time, we were still able to open doors to uncomfortable conversations that were able to get the kids thinking about things they deal with and will continue to deal with in their lives. In one way or another, we were able to spread awareness and hopefully motivate the kids to do something to help their communities. While we did not have full participation from all the students, we were able to open doors to uncomfortable conversations that were able to get the kids thinking about things they deal with and social justice. We were able to spread awareness and hopefully motivate the kids to do something to help their communities.