SHARON, Pa. — Delaney Hempseed, a senior human development and family studies major, is spending the spring 2026 semester as an intern with the Keystone Adolescent Center in Greenville, Pa.
In this Q&A, Delaney shares her duties and responsibilities at Keystone, and discusses how this internship experience is preparing her for her future career goals.
Begin Q&A:
Q: How did your internship experience with Keystone Adolescent Center come about?
A: A fellow friend who did her internship at Keystone told me about this internship opportunity. Keystone is local, and needing 480 internship hours, working full time at UPMC hospital, and being a full time student, the commute was ideal.
Q: What roles are you fulfilling as part of your internship experience?
A: As a behavioral health specialist intern at Keystone, my duties require me to supervise clients at the girls placement unit. I help out for routine activities, document everything that happens on shift, assign clients chores and duties, and during my time at Keystone I have built rapport with the staff and clients.
Q: What classroom experiences at Shenango prepared you for your roles at this internship?
A: All of the Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) and psychology courses have prepared me for this role. The lessons I have learned in and out of the classroom at Penn State have set me up for success at Keystone due to the vast knowledge I have gained from these courses.
Q: What are the key lessons you’ve learned during your internship experience?
A: I have learned that each client is unique and has a different approach in how they learn and receive feedback. I have learned that being selfless and having strong communication skills has allowed for me to flourish at Keystone. Also, approaching clients with different de-escalation techniques has expanded my understanding at Keystone.
Q: What career(s) are you interested in after graduation, and has your internship experience helped you towards reaching those goals?
A: Before my internship, I had never worked with adolescent children. But since working there, Keystone has opened my eyes to several different career paths. I think being a case manager for an adoption agency would be very beneficial and rewarding to different communities and myself. I have also thought about career paths in corrections. Keystone Adolescent Center is very similar to a corrections facility and the aspects learned there has opened my eyes to wanting to be involved in corrections. Drug and alcohol counseling has always had a special place in my heart and I believe I would still want to pursue a position with that career as well. Overall, interning at Keystone has opened my horizon to different career paths I am interested in.
