Behind the Scenes with Amanda

Greetings! My name is Amanda and I am a Program Intern here at the National Adoption Center. This internship fulfills the last requirement needed to obtain my degree in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State University, but more importantly allows me to gain “real world” experience outside of the classroom. In the short six weeks that I have been with NAC I have learned so much about the field of adoption and what goes in to finding the perfect family for a child in foster care.

One family recruitment tool that is coordinated by NAC is “Wednesday’s Child.” I had the exciting opportunity to attend a Wednesday’s Child taping and meet Jose, the featured Wednesday’s Child for that week. I’m not sure why but I had expected something to set Jose apart from a typical teenager growing up in their birth family. I thought maybe he would look different or act different, or do something that would make it obvious that he lives in a foster home. Looking back, I feel embarrassed that I thought any of that. Jose was your average teenager; nose buried in his cell phone, listening to music on his head phones, and updating his Facebook status to let his friends know that he was at lunch with the Vai Sikahema. He was polite and very well-mannered. Nothing about Jose’s appearance or behavior indicated that he was going through one of the toughest things a child could face.

Unfortunately, I’m sure that many people have some of the same thoughts that I originally had about children in foster care. It just seems to make sense that a child who has been through such heartbreak and uncertainty in their short life might act bitter and mean. Lucky for me, I had the chance to be proved wrong by a sweet young man in foster care, and I am so thankful that I was blessed with that opportunity. Now I will make it my mission to let the rest of the world know just how amazing these children are.