The Philadelphia Center

Experience

Q&A: Rachel Burgreen

Rachel Burgreen attended TPC during her junior year at Kenyon College. After completing her internship at COMHAR, she accepted a summer position at the Renfrew Center. Rachel’s sister, Charlie Faye, attended the program in 2001.

TPC: Let’s start with where you worked …
Rachel Burgreen: I worked at COMHAR, which is a community mental health agency in northeast Philly. I worked with members who have a dual-diagnosis of a mental illness and a substance abuse or dependence problem.

TPC: What kind of things did you do at COMHAR?
RB: Basically I was a counseling assistant. I was able to do group therapy, actually lead group therapy sessions. I also lead a group called health and wellness where I mainly talked about healthy eating. I talked a little bit about the correlation between binge eating and substance abuse and possibly replacing your addiction with food. Which was good because it related to my concentration in eating disorders.

TPC: What kind of qualities would an ideal candidate for a job at COMHAR have?
RB: It’s hard to say because I don’t think I had a lot of the ideal qualities but I adjusted. COMHAR is a place where things change minute-to-minute and there can be a crisis at any time. It’s great if someone has the ability to go with the flow and deal with change very easily. I’m not that person but I did deal with it and I think that was a very good thing to learn.

TPC: Do you think that’s unique to COMHAR or do you think that’s the nature of the field?
RB: I don’t think it’s unique to COMHAR and it is something that now I would expect if I were to go to another organization that dealt with similar issues and a similar population.

TPC: How did you feel about living in Philadelphia versus living in Gambier, Ohio?
RB: Well, it was good because I grew up in New York. By the time I was ready to go to college, I was ready to get out of the city so Gambier was great for me. And then I was getting a little antsy and wanted a little more autonomy and Philadelphia seemed like a good medium. Not as big as New York, but still a city. I really loved the Italian Market and getting to know the city. I love the murals and the mosaics.

TPC: What’s your favorite place of thing in the city?

RB: I guess I’d have to say the Italian Market—which I’m moving even closer to this summer. It’s great and there’s this little chocolate house, Anthony’s, with the chocolate covered strawberries …

TPC: I know! How about those chocolate covered apples? Okay, we’re getting sidetracked, so let’s skip to classes. Can you talk a little bit about those?
RB:  I’m taking Power and Authority and Exploring Relationships in Fiction and Film both taught by Mark Clark. I love them. My sister also took both classes. She told me I had to take Mark’s classes. Exploring Relationships in Fiction and Film, I really loved because it was an extension of something that I really had an interest in. Well, they both were really. Power and Authority helped me relate to my workplace and my supervisor.

TPC: How?

RB: I was drawn to it because I’ve always had an issue with power and authority. I’ve been told by others that I have a problem with authority so that was where my interest came in. It helped with my patience as far as analyzing and looking at things. Mark as an advisor was also great.

TPC: What’s one thing about your semester that when you leave here you’re going to reflect on and say, “I’m so glad I did that.”
RB: Really, most of it. I enjoyed being in the classroom and being able to share and hear other people’s opinions. Even if I don’t always agree, even if the expression on my face is like, really? The internship was extremely rewarding. Something that I think is going to be a really large resource for me as my career moves on.

TPC: What words of wisdom did your sister have for you when you were considering the program?
RB: She gave me a great image of the program and what she’d gotten out of it. She said it was an experience that could change your life. She’s definitely a large part of why I came here because it’s a really big leap coming into this program where you’re thrown into everything. Knowing that she got through it was kind a reassurance that if she could do it, so can I.

TPC: You were worried about being “thrown into everything”—what do you think you got out it?
RB: I think I got a lot. My city objective was to make a life for myself here in the summer and I think I did that. I think the tools I learned at the beginning of the semester were really helpful. I pretty much have everything set up and I did that by myself.

TPC: If you were talking to a potential student and you had to distill a couple of reasons to come to The Philadelphia Center, what would they be?
RB: It’s an experience that really prepares you for life after college. Having an internship like this, you can’t get that anywhere else. You can’t get that at your school and it’s helpful for furthering your career, and for getting into grad school. This really puts you in a category that not a lot of people are in and makes you stand out.

TPC: If you were talking to your hypothetical little sister or brother, what would you say to them?
RB: I know my sister and I had very different experiences. Really, I guess I’d give them the advice to make the most of it and really put themselves out there.