FORT STEWART, GA -- Practicum. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines as "a course of study designed especially for the preparation of teachers and clinicians that involves the supervised practical application of previously studied theory."
Liletha Smith, who has completed work on her Youth Practicum Certificate, and LaKisha Mitchell, who is very close to completing hers, would call it a fun but challenging project requiring dedication and patience. They also found it to be an endeavor that brought a great deal of personal satisfaction to them.
Both are child and youth program assistants with the Child, Youth and School Services at Fort Stewart and serve at the youth center in Bryan Village, working with middle school youngsters and teens.
Smith was the first person at Fort Stewart to receive the Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command certificate, signed by CYSS Director M. A. Lucas. Worldwide, only 73 persons hold the certificate.
Sandra M. Daiello, CYS Services Lead Training and Curriculum Specialist for Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield, said the accomplishment is one that not only helps the individual, but also is valuable to the Youth Center and community in which they work.
"This expertise will allow them to mentor other members of the staff, so we can build up all areas of the program. They will help us to maximize our programming and that will help us to make more of a difference with the youth and the community," said Daiello, who herself holds a youth practicum certificate she earned in service elsewhere.
Smith and Mitchell had to complete 18 months of foundation training and demonstrate excellence in their jobs to be eligible to take part in the practicum program, Daiello said. Each put in another six months of planning, implementation and documentation of their work with the youths to earn the practicum certificate.
The mission of CYS Services is to help "develop the whole child," Daiello said, "by providing the tools they need to be successful through our programming. We are here to support military readiness by reducing the conflict between a Soldier's mission requirements and his or her parental responsibilities. It is not meeting just one need of the child, but the whole child and Family."
Smith has been with CYS Services for more than 12 years in various capacities. She worked on the practicum to understand better "how the teens think and how they interact and really what's going on with them today. It will give me a little more knowledge on what the teens need, with our current deployments and everything that's going on with them, and how I can help them more."
Smith and her husband, Staff Sgt. Stacy James Smith, have a 14-year-old son, Stacy Jr., and live in Midway.
Mitchell, who has been with CYS more than 15 years, said she loved "putting it all together (in the required extensive scrapbook) and having a record of what you do each day. We can show people what we do, because a lot of people don't know what we do here. They don't see the details of the teaching, the learning and the planning and all that goes with it."
She said she loves, "Talking to the kids and seeing what they are going to say for today, what they are going to come up with."
Mitchell, who has a 10-year-old son (Davion) and lives in Hinesville, said one of the most satisfying parts of her job is her interaction with the children, some of whom will seek her out when they first arrive or later to tell her, "Bye, Miss Kisha."
Smith may have summed up her and Mitchell's feelings about the youth center and the children.
"I just love working with the children," Smith said, "and watching them grow. I've had some since they were 11 or 12 years old and now they are graduating from college this year. I love to watch them grow and come back and see us. We get a lot of children in here that have different needs and it is good that they have a place to go."
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