Sean Brewster '15 -- Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio

Sean Brewster

Class Year: 2015

Major: B.A. Music and Business, concentration in Arts Administration

Minor: Business Administration

Hometown: Norwalk, Ohio

Internship: Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio

Location: Columbus, Ohio

Internship Responsibilities: As part of the Columbus Foundation Summer Fellowship Program, I spent the past 10 weeks working at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio (RMHC). The main project that I was given for these 10 weeks was to create a Volunteer Stewardship Plan. In essence, I was identifying each and every point in a volunteers ‘lifespan’ that RMHC would send a note of thanks or appreciation. Before my time at RMHC, I had very little experience or knowledge about Volunteer Management.

What I Learned: From managing groups of volunteers from L Brands, Nationwide Insurance and Bath & Body Works to volunteering at the Thirty-One Gifts Conference, I have developed quite an understanding of volunteer management. By working to develop a fully-fledged Volunteer Stewardship Plan, and thus creating materials and processes to support this plan, I have gained an expertise of stewardship practices.

Of all my experiences working in non-profit organizations, I have never experienced such a warm and welcoming community. Every single staff member, volunteer and donor is enveloped by a passion for this House and the families that it serves.

Sarah Colville '14 - Tres Bien Studios

Name: Sarah Colville

Year: 2014

Major: Music and Business with Management

Hometown: Brownsburg, Indiana

Internship: Tres Bien Studios

Location: Worthington, OH

Internship Responsibilities: 

While working with Tres Bien Studios, I did invoicing, I helped in finding venues, helped with fundraising, finding sponsors for donations and I got to help teach children about music.

What I learned: 

I’ve learned a lot about running your own business, and that there isn’t a set path once you get out of school, and you should just do what you love.

Advice about searching for an internship: 

Use your resources as soon as possible. It took me a while to actually come to the CCPD for help, and for a while I didn’t even know the CCPD was here, but I’ve gotten a lot of help from them since.

Advice on how to make the most of an internship experience: 
Go above and beyond what you’re asked, and present ideas to the people that you’re working with, and they will be grateful for that, and they’ll help you expand on your experience.

Sean Brewster '15 - AICUO

Name: Sean Brewster

Year: 2015

Major: Music & Business with a concentration in Fine Arts Administration and a minor in Business Administration

Hometown: Norwalk, OH

Internship: 2014-2015 Art Awards Coordinator at the Association of Independent Colleges & Universities of Ohio (AICUO)

Location: Columbus, OH

Internship Responsibilities:

The Art Awards Coordinator position at AICUO is an intensive year-long internship that is teaching me the skills that are necessary to be an Arts Administrator. Through this position, I am in charge of planning the reception, coordinating the competition, obtaining grants and sponsorship awards for the program, and communicating with the executives of AICUO. This internship provides significant experience in administration, social networking, budget, grant writing, and event planning. It has also created opportunities for me to make connections throughout the Greater Columbus and Ohio arts communities.

What I learned:

I learned about the many different skills that it takes to successfully plan, organize and implement an event. In addition to these skills, I am actively refining my grant writing and sponsorship request skills. I am slowly gaining experience in using the Adobe Creative Suite; with a focus on learning the Adobe In-Design, Illustrator, and Photoshop programs.

Advice for the internship search:

I challenge you to CONSTANTLY be looking for internships. I am habitually perusing Cardinal Careers, Columbusinternships.com, and internmatch.com to see if there are any internships that I may be remotely interested in. Even if I am unavailable at the current moment, I still reach out to the organization in the hopes that I can make a connection for the future. Also, do not be afraid to reach out to professionals right now and connect; these connections are what will help you to find internships later on. Another tip: cast your net wide so that you have options.

Advice for making the most of your internship experience:

Always make sure that you are putting your all into any internship experience! This is the only way that you are going to figure out whether you want to pursue this field as a career. Take every advantage to connect with professionals, organize events, and do research for the organization you are interning with. Your supervisor will notice this and be able to write a stupendous recommendation letter or recommend you to a fellow professional.

Jonathan Hill '15 - BalletMet

Name: Jonathan Hill
Class Year: 2015
Major: B.A. Music & Business
Hometown: Wadsworth, OH
Internship Organizations: BalletMet
Location: Columbus, OH

Internship Responsibilities:
During my internship with BalletMet, I created press releases for Dracula, Romeo & Juliet, Young BalletMet, and The Rite of Spring. I Updated Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for the company. I also wrote several articles for mass emails and mailings. I assisted with design work using Photoshop and InDesign, used The Raiser’s Edge for data entry, and sent mass emails using iContact Email Marketing Services. I coordinated and provided marketing support by attending events and assisting patrons, collaborated on the social media marketing campaign and calendar and created direct marketing packets sent to patrons and subscribers to increase sales for the upcoming season. I assisted with marketing research for the season and performed other administrative duties in the Marketing and Communications Department. Finally, I coordinated all volunteers and appearance requests for BalletMet’s performance of The Nutcracker at the Ohio Theater.