Italian Home for Children Interns Support Mental Health Services
By Kobi Rivera Saunders, PIC Communications and Marketing Intern
At the Italian Home for Children, three PIC summer interns supported the organization’s mental health and educational programming—an opportunity that reaffirmed their interest in the medical field. The Home started as an orphanage in 1921for Italian children affected by influenza, broadening their services in the late 1960s to care for all children with emotional and behavioral needs. The interns contributed to this mission by providing behind-the-scenes assistance, which exposed the students to new aspects of the medical field while strengthening their organizational skills along the way.
Woose Emile (left) and Hazel O’Rourke (right)
As student interns, Woose Emile, Phoebe Niese, and Hazel O’Rourke provided much-needed support to the Home’s administrative and human resources teams. Woose and Phoebe, both recent graduates of Boston Latin School, worked at the outpatient clinic in Brighton. Hazel, a rising senior at Boston Latin Academy, was based at the Home’s main Jamaica Plain location. Some of their responsibilities included client interactions, file organizing, updating databases, paycheck management, and scheduling appointments.
The interns’ tasks were often very detail-oriented and required patience, yet the students always completed the job accurately and quickly—something greatly appreciated by their supervisor Kathryn Trainor. “It’s nice to see how prepared they are when they get here to take on some career-based tasks and critical thinking decisions,” shared the Associate Vice President of People Operations. “But it was the maturity of the interns that surprised me the most. There were some very difficult, time-consuming, and detail-oriented projects they did. They all nailed it, and handled all this confidential and sometimes very emotional information extremely well.”
Even for returning intern and aspiring doctor Woose, there was still more to learn. Woose spent last summer digitizing files and learning the importance of updating medical records. This summer, she honed different skills as a front desk assistant, including interacting with clients, managing insurance, and processing paychecks. “[The Home] definitely reaffirmed what I would like to do in the future,” shared Woose. “I love working with people and helping in any way I can, which was the focus of my job as a front desk intern.”
Woose and Hazel collaborating on a bulletin board
Like Woose, Hazel also hopes to pursue a career in medicine. Her behind-the-scenes responsibilities, including file organization, often involved accessing sensitive personal client information. For Hazel, this provided a new perspective on mental health services and treatment. “I applied for this internship because I was interested in medicine, especially pediatrics,” she stated. “This internship really opened me up to different mental health ideas and how these can be interpreted. I learned a lot more about mental disorders and how different brains interact with others; I found it all very interesting.”
As a supervisor, Kathryn intentionally designed tasks and projects to encourage professional development. Responsibilities like file organization and insurance management allowed the interns to develop actionable skills and gain a broader view of mental health services. Beyond the summer, Kathryn hopes that the Home can be a resource and community for interns in the future. Later down the line, when our interns are out of college and looking for work, they always have us as an option to work with again or get a letter of recommendation from. I always make sure every intern I host has a letter of recommendation by the time they leave,” she said.
While the summer internship at the Italian Home for Children inspired students to keep working towards careers in medicine, it was the mentorship and supportive environment that set the experience apart. Woose shared, “The team I worked with was definitely what kept me motivated throughout my internship. [They were] all very welcoming, asked for my opinions, and really felt like they were looking out for me and accommodating me when needed.
Woose and Hazel with their supervisor, Kathryn (middle)
The PIC would like to express our thanks to the Liberty Mutual Foundation, whose support makes these early-career experiences possible at The Italian Home for Children.
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