Moving Cross-Country for Internship
Hello everyone! My name is Mia Falcon, and I am the senior intern at the Music Therapy Center of California (MTC). I’m late to the game, but for my first blog post, I thought I’d tell you all a little bit about myself and how I made my way here to sunny San Diego at MTC.
I was born and raised in Kansas City. And before you ask, I’m from the KANSAS side, but went to school on the Missouri side. I completed my Bachelor’s degree coursework from the University of Kansas in May of this 2024, and am now here at MTC to finish the final component of earning my degree-my internship.
You might be wondering ‘Mia, why did you choose to move 1,500 miles away from home for a 6 month internship?’. And to you, lovely reader, I would say-because why not! My family has had a tie to the San Diego area for many years and I’ve always felt a pull to southern California. I’ve visited my family here since I was a baby and have always wondered how my life could look in San Diego-somewhere so different from home. Going to school only 45 minutes away from my hometown was a blessing, but once graduation hit, I felt that I could use this opportunity to try living in a new but familiar city.
After sending in my application, I took a trip out to San Diego to get a physical walk through of the offices and meet the internship director and co-owner, Julie for my first interview! Every source on the internet about MTC had nothing but great things to share and was very interested in the private practice setting. My undergraduate practicum experience with clients was primarily working with young children and adults. I was very drawn to the diverse clientele of MTC and the opportunities that they provide for their interns (learn about MTC’s internship).
So after 4 interviews with the lovely internship directors and supervisors, I was offered an internship position! I could barely contain my excitement and started jumping for joy the moment I got off the zoom call. Fast forward to a few months later, and it was time to move out of my college house and start packing my things to move out to California!
Moving to a new city is no easy feat, and neither was packing for it. Oftentimes I was asking myself questions-do I really need these heavy pants? What about two different rain jackets? What about sturdy winter boots? Sweatpants galore? My full-length winter parka? But alas, I moved here in July and had no use for my once needed cold weather clothing. Instead I packed up my business casual clothes, sandals, swimsuits, my instruments and loaded up the car for a roughly 3 day drive to the West coast!
Highlights from the drive included stopping at several different scenic lookout points across Oklahoma (yes scenic views actually exist in Oklahoma), New Mexico and Arizona, perusing shops and gas stations along Route 66, finding a restaurant called ‘The Falcon Family restaurant’ in the middle of nowhere Arizona and catching a beautiful sunset on our last night of travel in Sedona.
Looking back on my journey traveling out to San Diego, I am so glad that I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and accepted the internship position at MTCCA. As you readers will come to learn through my following blog posts, I can confidently say that this has been one of the most rewarding decisions I’ve ever made. Not only have I gained valuable professional experience, but I have also grown as a person that has learned to adapt, embrace change and find pockets of peace throughout my days at MTC.
To any potential intern that may be reading this post, or anyone considering a similar leap of faith: take the chance! Moving to a new city, whether it be for school, work or just a fresh start-it will ultimately be an opportunity to learn more about yourself, your capabilities, your strengths and your areas of improvement. Though it will inevitably come with challenges, they will be challenges that you can learn and grow from.
I’m excited to share some of my insights and experiences throughout my internship and can’t wait to see what San Diego has in store for me!
-Mia Falcon
