Lighthouse Youth Development Center

Michael Goebel, Summer 2011

Many things come to mind when thinking back at my time at Lighthouse YDC this past summer. It was an extremely active, fun, and sometimes frustrating internship, but in the end I wouldn't trade it for anything at all. When working with the patient population that Lighthouse YDC serves, which is 12-17 year old males mostly coming from broken families and a long list of legal problems, there are certain challenges that can be tough to overcome. However, the rewarding feeling that comes from getting to serve as a positive role model to these kids is great, as is the opportunity to go to many fun sites around the city including Kings Island, the Zoo, and Reds games. After a while most of the boys really start to open up to you and you learn a lot about their past. Once you've made a connection with them you can start to use your influence to try to steer them in the right direction, which is by far the most rewarding part of the job. There will be down times of course, like when you think a kid was making progress only to see him relapse back in legal troubles involving drugs and violence, but those times are worth it when you see all the other kids continue to make progress. This summer I expended a lot of energy, played a ton of pickup basketball, and hopefully connected with some great kids. In the end it was all worth it.