FIND YOUR PLACE IN THE
NEW WORLD OF WORK
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Child Therapy Intern
Name Gabriela Martinez-Fonts
Age 24
Occupation Child therapy intern, Institute for
Child and Adolescent Development (ICAD)
Degree Bachelor’s degree in psychology and
fine arts, University of Michigan
Getting started Martinez-Fonts was search
ing through a list of nonprofit organizations when
she found ICAD and was drawn by the organiza
tion’s dedication to woking with kids.
The job Martinez-Fonts works with community
based counseling services to identify low-income
preschoolers at risk for learning or emotional
problems. Most of the kids she works with strug
gle to cope with neighborhood violence, family
unrest, or economic hardship. “We try to assess
each child s strengths and weaknesses at a young age, and then target the weaker areas
before they become entrenched obstacles to healthy development,” she says.
Creative development Martinez-Fonts helps children express their troubles and build
self-esteem through activities like painting, drawing, and sculpture. “Four- and five-year-olds
often have difficulty verbalizing their fears or what pains them, but kids can talk to you
through art,” she says. "Releasing their creativity onto paper or clay always makes kids feel
good about themselves.”
Aspirations One day, Martinez-Fonts wants to create programs that “use art to help kids
learn more about themselves and deal with problems in constructive ways.” She also hopes
to earn a master’s in education and implement her art therapy strategies in public schools.
But for the moment, Martinez-Fonts looks forward to every new opportunity to ease a
child’s pain. “The best reward I get is when a child I’ve been working with draws a self
portrait with a big smile and the sun in the background.”
■■■■
-Isabel de Sola
fast track
■ Telecommuting A recent
Techtv.com survey found that 51 per
cent of North American companies
allow employees to telecommute,
and 74 percent expect to see an
increase in telecommuting in the
coming year.
off track
l Stock Options According to a
recent Pricewaterhouse Coopers
survey, cash compensation among
Internet executives rose by 13 per
cent during the past year, while the
value of option compensation rose
by only 1 percent.
the track
words
of work
Cookie Cutter The new
privacy feature on Internet
Explorer—the first from a
major browser company—
that allows users to easily
reject cookies planted by web
ad networks.
“Maritza first noticed that her
cookie cutter was working when
cnnsi.com stopped offering her
free trial magazine subscriptions
whenever she visited the site.”
o
▲ Cyberchondriac
Someone who incessantly
reads up on ailments on the
web in order to self-diagnose
their suspected illnesses.
“A recent poll revealed that 98
million people now search for
health information online, 13
percent of them checking fre
quently. We’re such a nation of
cyberchondriacs.”
NAS Dork Someone who
pays way too much attention to
the fluctuations of the
NASDAQ stock index.
“That NASDork can’t sit
through a matinee without bust
ing out his cell phone to check
the latest Qualcomm quote.” ►