Reflecting on Our Summer as Community Engagement Interns

After a fun and engaging summer, we wanted to reflect on our time working with the Community Engagement department.

During my time as an intern, I expanded my social skills and communication skills, I got out of my comfort zone and met new people, and I even explored new places due to the trips we went on. Being an intern was very rewarding because it provided an insight into what it is like to work. This was a helpful experience for my future jobs. Overall, I had a very pleasurable experience with the Community Engagement team at Joffrey. - Samantha 

Joffrey Community Engagement has provided me with the magnificent pleasure of being an intern for two and a half weeks, and I can honestly say that even though being an intern requires a lot of hands-on work and getting tasks done in a timely manner, it has been an unforgettable experience. As an intern, I have been able to learn the ropes behind building a showcase for a dance company like the Joffrey Ballet. The overall environment at the Joffrey Ballet is amazing, and everyone is welcoming!. I have always loved to dance since the age of 5 but being on the other side of things really allows me to see the true dedication and passion that goes into making a performance perfect. There is no place like the Joffrey Ballet, and I am so happy that I got the opportunity to be a part of this amazing company, as well as be on the administrative side! I will deeply miss being a Joffrey intern, but just know that I will return to help in any way that I can! - Kayla 

It was a pleasure being an intern this summer; I was able to grow and learn many things. My organizational skills grew immensely by helping organize costumes. Writing these blog posts helped me improve my writing skills and got me more comfortable with writing my experiences. Being an intern has opened my views of how the world works. I would like to use these views to understand how my world works. If I have another opportunity to become an intern, I will gladly take it because I got to grow as an individual and I want to see how much more I can grow. - Laura 

Overall, my experience as a Joffrey intern has been great. I was able to enhance my skills while being here, while also learning a variety of different things: from how to write a proper blog post to learning all the different shades of tights we have. I have become a pro at all the Office.com applications, which was one of the goals I had when I first started. If I get the opportunity to be a Joffrey intern again, I will say yes again because there was never a time when I didn’t learn anything new.  - Sandy

This is my first time being an intern, and it has opened my eyes not only to the nonprofit world, but also the dance world. The whole community engagement department has challenged me in my decision-making and critical thinking skills. Every day as an intern, I encountered new challenges. I had never used Office 360 before, but now I know how to use it. As a first-time intern, I do not think I can work for another company because of how good it was with the Joffrey Community Engagement department. From the whole department to the dancers, everything was great. I will not forget my time and the lessons learned here. If the opportunity to become a CE intern arrives at my doorstep again, I would gladly take it. It was amazing.  - Oluwasemilore  (Rebecca)

As participants in the After School Matters Joffrey Dance Exploration program, we decided to vlog a day in the life of a dancer. This video follows out journey on the day of our final showcase. We filmed, edited and planned this video ourselves. We hope you enjoy it.