Hi blog! Happy fall. I’m glad you’re here.
Here in Oberlin, the summer weather has finally cooled to a pleasant high-of-seventy-and-sunny. And, although the East Coast is being pummeled by a Nor’easter, we are finally starting to dry off from the humidity of early September. With the changing of the seasons and the official end of summer earlier this week, I am feeling struck by how vast my summer really was. Although I won’t be enrolled in Oberlin’s Internship+ program until next summer, I was still able to land an internship for this quasi-senior summer before I move to Cleveland next year as part of the BA/BFA program.
Starting at the end of May, I was one of two interns in the Community Engagement Department at Jacob’s Pillow International Dance Festival. Located in Becket, Massachusetts, and founded in 1933 by Ted Shawn, the Pillow is a world-renowned hub of dance, with over 100 dance performances each summer and a vast archive of dance history. My responsibilities at the Pillow involved running registration for morning dance classes, organizing community events, and working with performing artists to host masterclasses every Sunday. The summer was fast-paced to say the least, and I feel like I am only now starting to process everything I learned in the 13 weeks I was living on campus.
In terms of professional development, I was directly immersed into the world of arts administration from day one. I had never worked a desk job before, so it took me some time to adjust to the schedule and work flow. While on the job, I learned how to use a customer relationship management software program called Tessitura, adopted new working styles within the office, and gained valuable customer service skills. Throughout the summer, I worked with artists from dozens of companies including Urban Bush Women, San Francisco Ballet, and Gauthier Dance. On top of all that, I got to see incredible dance performances for free nearly every day! Some of my favorite shows from the summer included Weathering by Faye Driscoll, Thikra: Night of Remembering by Akram Khan Company, and Night Journey by Martha Graham Dance Company.
I also gained a much better understanding of the scale of labor required for dance productions of this size— although the department I worked in was small, I had fellow interns working in departments such as Marketing, Programming, Media, Philanthropy, Patron Services, and more. All together, I worked alongside over 200 other Pillow staff, each contributing to the success of the 10-week Festival.
Looking back on this busy summer, I am struck by how deeply my time at Oberlin contributed to my experience as an intern. Through my work as an Accessibility Coordinator for the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association, I have gained a much deeper understanding of how to ensure opportunities for equal participation, which turned out to be an essential aspect of my job at the Pillow. Furthermore, because of my experiences in the dance department, I was able to teach a class to other interns during the summer and jump into dance classes of many different genres ready to learn.
Looking back, I can definitively say this summer was a life-changing experience that will stay with me for a long time. I am coming away with so much inspiration for future creative work, and so much valuable information about what I want from my career and how to get there. I’m so grateful to be back in Oberlin for one more year, applying what I have learned (and preparing to enter the job market at the end of next year!). I can’t wait to see where next summer’s internship takes me...
