The Springbrook Scholars program supports current employees at Springbrook in their pursuit of higher education and attainment of credentials for high-demand fields such as nursing, special education, occupational, speech, and physical therapy, and other disciplines. In addition to advancing the careers of these dedicated Springbrook employees, we also provide opportunities for hands-on learning to interns from several colleges and universities.
Several factors make Springbrook a desirable placement for interns, including access to a variety of programs, from the Capstone Day Habilitation program working hands-on with individuals and licensed professionals, to The School at Springbrook and in our on-campus residences working alongside Springbrook’s Registered Nurses. Interns at Springbrook will learn to support individuals with a wide range of special needs, including physical and behavioral needs, by engaging with them in a variety of settings, all with the support of a professional team and the latest technologies.
Kelly Suhoke, Springbrook’s Talent Acquisition and University Relations Coordinator, has been working hard to develop connections with various higher education programs and providing insight to internship placements across Springbrook. Despite the complications created by the pandemic, Kelly has created and maintained many new and existing partnerships. Partnerships have been created with Hartwick College, SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Delhi, and SUNY Cortland’s Speech-Language Pathology program.
As of this fall, there are 48 interns working and learning at Springbrook. These interns include 23 nursing students from Hartwick College who arrived at Springbrook’s Main Campus for orientation this week. These students will be working at The School, as well as in the on-campus residences. An additional 19 nursing students from SUNY Delhi will shadow our RN staff at The School and on-campus residences.
In addition to nursing, qualified occupational, speech, and physical therapists are also in high demand. This is why Springbrook was fortunate to host two occupational therapy interns from Bay Path University this past summer. These interns worked with the Capstone Day Habilitation therapy team to fulfill their clinical experience requirement for their master’s degree. These interns made an especially big splash when they organized the recent Olympics-themed field day (which you can find featured in a recent Donor Dollars at Work blog post).
Springbrook is excited to have two graduates from SUNY Cortland’s Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program stay with us on campus while they work with our students under the supervision of Springbrook’s licensed SLPs. These students are engaged in hands-on learning and have the opportunity to learn about and utilize various augmentative and alternative communication tools to support individuals on campus. This fall, the students will have completed a third semester working with the team at Springbrook. This has been made possible by the development of on-campus intern housing, developed with support from the Scriven Foundation, which has eliminated the difficulty of securing short-term housing in the Oneonta-Cooperstown area. Additional interns at Springbrook included two SLP clinical fellows. These graduate students will be able to complete the final requirements they need prior to becoming fully-licensed Speech Language Pathologists. They will be employed full-time at The School for several months, supporting our students under the care and direction of our experienced team.
Finally, Springbrook also hosts undergraduate interns from the psychology, education, and child/family studies programs at SUNY Oneonta. The guidance and experience that Springbrook can provide to these students will inform their career choices going forward and foster connections for the future.
We are inspired by the commitment and enthusiasm of all the interns we have hosted at Springbrook and are proud to be able to offer such great learning opportunities for emerging professionals in these high-demand disciplines. The alliances that have been created with higher education through Springbrook Scholars will have a lasting impact on Springbrook and in the broader community as these professionals launch their careers. We are grateful to the Scriven Foundation and other generous donors who have contributed to the Springbrook Scholars program.
If you would like to be a part of the Springbrook Scholars program or learn more, please click here!
