Remarks from our Summer Intern: Tony

Meet Tony, a summer intern from Principia College

My name is Anthony Ackah-Nyanzu.  I come from Ghana, and I now live in Elsah, Illinois, attending Principia College.  I will be starting my junior year this coming fall with a double major in Computer Science and Economics.

It was the Spring quarter, and as usual I had to decide where I was going to be for the summer.  I initially had two places in mind.  I was either going to work for The Mother Church or to work for a Christian Science nursing home.  For a while I have wanted to work at a Christian Science nursing facility, but I was unsure if it was the right thing for me.  Halfway through the quarter there was a job fair at Principia.  I first visited the Mother Church booth, and talked with them about a possible internship.  After that I went to the Fern Lodge booth to talk about nursing.

I met Brian Stock, and he told me about Fern Lodge.  He talked about Christian Science nursing training at Fern Lodge and then about an internship to work in the office for the summer.  Right away I knew that doing that internship was the right thing for me.  It would give me experience related to my fields of study, but more importantly would help me to decide whether Christian Science nursing was the right thing for me.

While I have been at Fern Lodge I have been working on digitizing historic photos and uploading them on the Fern Lodge website.  Some are already fading, so I add color and light to them so that they look as they were originally.  I have also participated in taking the guests here on walks and reading the Lesson, Christian Science Monitor, and other Christian Science literature.  Being able to do these things with the guests makes my time here worthwhile and enjoyable.  I love to go on walks, so being able to take someone with me makes me definitely like to work here.

I am in my third room while I have been here, but every move has been to a better room.  I totally like where I am now.  I like the food, and the people that I have met here.  I wake up in the morning, have breakfast while hanging out with the one making breakfast and then come to work.  I work on the photos, help with computers, or do anything I need to do in the office, and then it is time for the walk.  ☺

In short, I am enjoying my summer.  I am glad I came to Fern Lodge.  The warm welcome I have received here, from the people to the services in general, have made it clear to me that Christian Science nursing is something that I would be interested in doing, at least while I am in school.  I would definitely consider Fern Lodge for my nursing class if it is available next summer.

Thank you,

Tony