Speaker 1 Name: Anna Mayglothling
Speaker 1 Title: Get the Glue! How arts and crafts provide an engaging space for learning about Art History.
Speaker 1 Abstract: In the fall of 2024, I began my internship at the Springfield Museums, specifically at the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum in their Art Discovery Center (ADC). The center offers a unique opportunity to help kids learn more about art history while giving them a space to create art of their own. As an intern, my responsibilities included preparing materials for said crafts, working hands-on with the children and adults who came in, maintaining the exhibit space in which it is held, and helping develop new ideas for the crafts and activities. I will talk about how this internship helped me expand my knowledge of art and teaching, requiring me to design activities that integrate art and culture from any gallery or exhibit currently on view throughout the museums while making them engaging for all those who enter the museum.

Speaker 2 Name: Elise Schemmel Shapiro
Speaker 2 Title: Getting Cool with the Console
Speaker 2 Abstract: This past summer I interned at a recording studio while also working on independent recording projects at home. I shadowed my guitar teacher/mentor who works at the studio, and other producers who she is connected to there. I sat in on recording sessions, helped set up for sessions, and learned the basics of the mixing console and outboard gear. At home, I studied music production using a textbook and recorded my four original songs on the digital audio workstation Logic Pro X. But in the studio, I had the opportunity to learn the basics of the digital audio workstation ProTools, which is the industry standard.

Speaker 3 Name: Sarah Grinnell
Speaker 3 Title: Looking Local: Explorations in Community Arts Engagement
Speaker 3 Abstract: This past summer, I interned at the Newburyport Art Association in Newburyport, MA, a non-profit art gallery that provides arts education and exhibition to the local community. On an average day, I staffed the front desk, answering questions, handling art sales, and documenting art storage. My specific role as intern was writing the gallery’s weekly newsletters and press releases. This position enabled me to feel integrated within the Newburyport arts community by regularly interacting with artists and visitors from Newburyport and beyond. As an introverted person, I grew my confidence and became more assertive, as the work demanded regular communication with artists and the gallery team throughout the installation process. Through these experiences, I honed my aesthetic eye and learned to articulate my opinions in a group setting—often dealing with creative differences—thereby gaining both soft skills like self-advocacy and hard skills pertaining to the field, like curation and exhibition layout.

Speaker 4 Name: Max Rhoads
Speaker 4 Title: New Experiences in News Media
Speaker 4 Abstract: This past summer, I interned at Amherst Media, a public access news media outlet. I assisted with news shoots around Amherst, edited our footage in Adobe Premiere Pro, and made Instagram reels for the organization’s official page. I learned to operate a camera, and went out into the local community and learned about the issues facing it. I gained important skills that will help me in my intended future career as a journalist.