Hometown: St. Augustine, Florida

Major: StudioArt

Instagram: @happytobemadison

Internship: MSU Museum

What were your internship title and role/responsibilities?

I was the Exhibitions Student Assistant. I supported the Director of Exhibitions with the development and creation of exhibition components. I also provided maintenance through the museum’s exhibits.

How did you obtain your internship? What resources did you utilize to secure your internship?

 Handshake is where I found the position posted.

What did your daily routine include?

 The tasks we did every day change so initially, I check in with the supervisor and she lets me know what there is to do or I continue my task from earlier in the week.

Your favorite experience from the internship (2-3 sentences)

 I was a part of building an exhibit called “The Observation Experiment” and I learned so much about the exhibit process while having so much fun working with my coworkers. The best part was putting the exhibits artifacts into their cases, it’s a gentle yet creative process.

What was your least favorite part of the internship?

 Every day I would go home very tired. I didn’t realize how much manual labor I would be doing, but I learned the importance of stretching before going to work.

What skills did you learn and/or build upon during your internship?

 I learned how to use a table saw! and lots of other woodworking skills.

What did you learn about the industry or your career path as a result of the internship? What are your future plans?

 Working in a museum is a real collective effort. Everybody works together and it makes the whole place function more fluidly. I plan to continue working in museums until I finish getting my Ph.D. in Art Therapy.

What advice do you have for other students seeking out internship opportunities?

 The place you’re meant to be/work in will love you for who you are, not who you think you should be so just be yourself! And have fun!