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Home » News » 2nd Year Arts Administration Internship Spotlight: Kathleen Ewing

2nd Year Arts Administration Internship Spotlight: Kathleen Ewing

Published October 4, 2018

As a part of their graduate curriculum, second year arts administration students were able to enhance their learning with hands on internship experiences this past summer.  Pursuing an internship allows graduate students to develop practical application skills while exploring the nuances of specialized work in their field of interest.  To commemorate and highlight the work of these exemplary graduate arts administration students, the department would like to introduce Kathleen Ewing!

Ewing studied dance during her undergraduate career at Florida State University and is a current second year graduate student studying arts administration. Over the summer Ewing devoted her time to working as an intern for The American Dance Festival (ADF) in Durham, North Carolina where she served as the Festival Services Coordinator.

Ewing noted that when she began her search for a summer internship position she looked for three specific characteristics: she wanted to work within the field of dance; she wanted to be compensated for her time whether that be room and board, a stipend, hourly pay, free classes, or educational seminars; and she wanted to have responsibility in her position and independence in her work.  In reflection of her search for a position Ewing commented:

I did not let these characteristics limit my search to only dance organizations, but dance organizations were my priority.  All of these criteria were important to me and I urge anyone looking for an internship to create their own set of criteria to guide them through the search process.

In regards to her work while in the position Ewing added:

I was part of the ADF School Staff but much of my work extended outside of the school and into the Development and Performances offices.  I managed an intern and two work study students independently throughout the festival and gained immense leadership and management skills from this experience.  I additionally served as the main liaison between Duke University, ADF’s summer home, and ADF while in this position.  I coordinated all housing and meal plans for our students living on campus and in select apartments and also coordinated housing for special guests attending the festival while helping to select teachers.  Facility management was included in my role for the residence hall designated for the summer staff.

Within her role, Ewing additionally worked directly with the Co-Directors, the Dean of the ADF School, and the Development office to plan all school events which required maintaining a large inventory of food, drink, and catering supplies and leaving her in charge of the set-up, facilitating, and break-down of events.  Financial responsibility often required her to coordinate in-kind donations with local businesses where she was able to create lasting relationships for ADF to use in the future.

Looking back on her experience, Ewing stated:

I had a wonderful summer working at ADF! This staff position allowed me to build confidence in myself as a manager and leader, and it also allowed me to apply the knowledge I learned in my first year of graduate school.  I had a unique experience being a staff member that I feel was very rewarding and contributed to my future career as an arts administrator!”

The department commends and congratulates Ewing for her work this summer! More information regarding the work of arts administration students and FSU’s master’s and PhD level arts administration programs can be found by clicking here.