Interview questions for Northfield Reads & Counts and
the Off-Campus Work Study Program Participants
Name: Katie Udenberg ’11
Hometown: Chatfield, MN
I work in the Child Watch Room for the YMCA in Northfield. My role is to watch the children when their parents come to exercise and to make sure the environment is both safe and fun. My responsibilities include supervising the children, recording how many children are in the room each half-hour, and cleaning up the room once all the children leave. I was inspired to work off-campus because the off-campus jobs seemed more meaningful and rewarding than the on-campus jobs that were available.
The benefits of working off-campus are that there is more opportunity to interact with members of the Northfield community and to work as a helper. The challenges of working off-campus are getting to work and transportation and the extra time this takes. I feel like I have a good relationship with the director and site supervisor, though I don’t often interact with the director I know she is always available if I have questions.
Through my experience working at the YMCA, I have gained better communication skills by trying to understand what the younger children are saying.
