Name: Elizabeth Contreras
Age: 24
Hometown: Garland, Texas
School: UT-Arlington
Major/Minor: Bilingual Education
Site/s where you have served: Wesley Rankin
Q: Why did you want to serve full-time as a PT intern?
In 2007 one of my mom’s co-workers had emailed her some information about PT and told her that I might be interested in this internship, especially since they gave a scholarship voucher after the summer was over, since I was planning to go to a university after community college. I didn’t apply that year but decided to give it a try in 2008 and that’s when I met my Wesley Rankin family. I decided to do the year-round afterschool program to help out the kids as much as I could with their schoolwork and still have the chance to be with them in the summer of 2009.
Q: What is the most important lesson you have learned from working with underserved children/youth?
You can always count on your family no matter what. These kids may not have much, but one thing that is evident is their strong family ties. All they need is someone to tell them that they can make a world of difference and that people are willing to help them achieve their dreams.
Q: How has PT affected your faith journey?
I learned that there are people outside of your family that you can trust and go to for prayer when you need it the most. It made my relationship with God even stronger and made me appreciate my home church, which is my home away from home.
Q: How has your experience with PT helped you to better understand your gifts and your calling?
I know now that my calling in life is to work with children and youth. PT served as a confirmation to my calling, one that I was trying to run away from. I learned that when God has something planned for your life that you can only take so many detours before you end up right where God wants you to be. I thank God that I’m bilingual and that I was able to have a relationship with not just the children and youth from Wesley Rankin, but also with their parents and family members.
Q: What is your favorite part of the Project Transformation experience?
I’m usually a quiet person and only joke around with people that I’ve known for years. PT somehow has that same effect when you meet other interns for the first time and automatically click with complete strangers as though you’ve known them your whole life. I was able to be a part of a small “devotional presentation” with 3 other interns and had a lot of fun doing it. I just needed that little push and I’m glad I ended up doing it because it will be something I will never forget.
Q: What are your future vocational plans and how has PT helped to shape or clarify those plans?
After doing my internship in 2008 at Wesley Rankin, I realized that there was a tremendous need in that community and I wanted to help out as much as possible to give these kids the opportunity to succeed in life, despite the circumstances they may be facing. At that moment, I ended up changing majors for the third time and immediately began taking education courses at Mountain View College that fall. I received my second Associates, but this time instead of it being in Science, it was in Arts in Teaching. I transferred to UT-Arlington where I am working on my Bachelor’s and I’m majoring in Bilingual Education grades EC-6.
Q: What have you learned from living with other young adults in such a diverse Christian community?
It’s taught me that it’s okay to let others in and that I don’t have to go through things alone. I thank God for placing the interns He did at Wesley Rankin, especially for the 2009 internship because I was able to talk to a lot of, what I consider Wesley Rankin family members, when I went through some really tough times and felt alone. I’m glad that I was able to let those feelings out with the right people at the right time, which made me love PT even more.
Q: What is the most important thing you will take away from serving through Project Transformation?
The most important thing I will take away is the fact that I did the best I could to impact the lives of children and youth in a positive way. I love these kids as I would my own siblings, and the fact that they know that lets me know that all my hard work was not in vain. I hope that when they graduate, they are able to see the person I always knew they could be and hopefully continue the cycle that PT has started.
Q: What advice would you give to a young adult who is interested in serving as a PT intern?
DO IT! It’s such a rewarding experience and be prepared to fall in love with these kids and youth. They need positive role models in their lives they can look up to. Be open-minded and always have a plan B, just in case. Have fun and enjoy the long-lasting relationships you will build when you join the PT family.