Long Beach City College’s Child Development Club provides hands-on opportunities for students looking to network with professionals, connect with educators and attend workshops devoted to self-care.
The club provides a great number of interactions between professional panels in the field to network, connect and bond with.
The club specializes in child development and educational studies and also hosts self-care workshops for people looking to better their mental health.
Student and Child Development Club President Erica Brannon advocates that the club is beneficial for students looking to pursue careers in the field.
“When they go to apply for a job they say, ‘you need at least two years of experience working with kids and families,’ and they are like, ‘well where do you get that,’ and if you’re already a student here, this is the perfect place to get that hands-on experience at one of the top-rated preschool programs in Long Beach,” said Brannon.
Brannon went on to explain the enhancement of hands-on job opportunities that the club provides at the Child Development Center on the LAC campus.
“I work at the child development center on campus… A lot of students who are looking for work-study and to stay in that same realm work there,” Brannon said.
The club welcomes a variety of individuals such as parents, students, nannies, or people working in the psychology field.
The club also educates individuals about early lifetime development that may benefit people in most ways that they are not aware of.
Student and secretary of the Child Development Club Ariana Garcia voices her opinion about the many benefits that she has acquired since joining the club, last spring.
“Ever since Child Development club I find it super important that I share facts to family and parents and children. There’s so many stages of life that people are unaware of. I hope more people join so that more people will know about child development,” Garcia said.
Professor of child development and educational studies Kathleen Vokoun describes the club as a way to connect with the community while bettering learning skills.
“Our club is a community and a family and we have room for everyone who would like to connect,” Vokoun said.
The organization will meet this Fall 2019 on the first and third Wednesday of the month from 6:15 p.m. to 7:17 p.m.. at the Liberal Arts Campus Child Development Center.