Blog 10- Has this experience been a rewarding one for you? Why or Why not (keep it positive, if you had negative experiences, focus on what you learned- make yourself look good!)? How has the reality of your internship matched or contrasted with your expectations? What is the most important learning you did during your internship?
This experience has been one of the best things I have done and Im grateful for applying to the Bring Back the Arts program. This program is rewarding because I have learned so many valuable experience I can bring into a real work space. I can take customer service skills, front desk managing, set up skills, and most of all how to be a better communicator. I have also met so many wonderful people and co-workers throughout the whole internship. I expanded my communication circle because communication and meeting new people is important in the music business, you need to advertise yourself in order to make it in the business. This has changed my perspective of the whole management side of music. Before I started this program I thought Swallow Hill would have more opportunities to play my violin and learn electronic skills, but this program consisted with a majority of box office working and setting up the concerts. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that for it gave me a great experience. I learned that having a major in music do have a wide variety of jobs some that are more logistical and surrounds itself around paperwork, others more around performance and education. One of the most important things I have learned about this whole experience is that this would be something I would not like to pursue in the future. Although interning at Swallow Hill has taught me that this is a career I would not like to pursue, I know I still love music and would like to venture into another major / career field that still involves music. I will always remember what Swallow Hill taught me and be grateful for Bringing Back the Arts program.
Blog 9- What have you seen or experienced in your internship that has inspired you the most on your own artistic journey? Has this experience changed your artistic ambitions? How?
The experience of working with people who have the same passion and share the same love for music is what inspire me to continue with music. I know that there has been the idea that I don’t want to go into a career that is the similar to the cubicle work here at Swallow Hill but the people I am constantly surrounded by, makes this experience worthwhile. Sharing similar qualities makes me feel like I fit in and I love that about a job. The communication in this type of career is crucial for success and by doing the internship I see firsthand how I need to expand my horizons. It made me realize that cubicle jobs are not for me and taught me some things about myself I never knew. The thing I didn’t know such as how I would like a job in an open space, one with more creativity but I do like the idea of having some logistics. My artistic ambition hasn’t fully changed, but I did tweak it. I feel like now instead of dedicating my major as soon as I enter college next year, I will go in undecided and open option. Experimenting with new music classes and trying to found out the specific type of music major I would love the most. This Internship has prepared me to solidify what I would like to do in my future, knowing that I dont to fully dedicate my major as music until I try other things out.
Blog 8- How is your internship project going? Describe the progress of your project. How did the conversation about your project go with your sponsor? (If you haven’t discussed the project with your sponsor yet, how do you plan to do so?) Did they have good insights into how to improve or expand the project? How does your project bridge what you do at your internship and what you like to create for yourself? Has your relationship with your sponsor evolved as you have engaged in a creative dialogue about your project? Are there any challenges you are experiencing planning or doing your project?
My project is going wonderful so far. In the past week I sent several emails out to confirm location and time of the performance. Right off the bat Hanna was on the same page with my project, she thought it was a good idea. I started by taking notes from Hanna about how I need to figure out the five W and to communicate with everyone about my plans. How my project bridges with my internship is through what Swallow Hill does best, put on shows. Hanna’s old occupation used to be booking for Swallow Hill so that is why she is an important person in my project. Talking about my project has made my relationship with my sponsor better acquainted and closer than before. The only problem I foresee is if the choir doesn’t follow through with attending this show. I know I originally intended for the choir to play but if plans change then I am forced to look at alternatives. I guess by this point I can always ask North’s drumline to participate, they’re always up for a performance. One problem I did face was my original plans was at a breakfast ceremony that we have every year but when I talked to the man who ran the breakfast he told me we were not going to do it this year! Although this freaked me nonetheless he did say there was another ceremony that would be wonderful to plan a performance for. My next steps is to finalize all the plans of the ceremony and to confirm who will be performing.
Blog 7- What is the difference between working on personal art projects and working in a creative business? What have you learned about working in a creative business?
When I work on my own art projects it makes me feel more creative because I am doing my own thing. I can paint or film or anything I’d like but the only drawback is the lack of template. When I am working in the business it feels more like I am fed ideas and given an outline of expectations. It has more of a requirement to be creative and to do art than if a person wanted to. When it is personal you have to keep yourself in check and you don’t have many support options. Only at a job, you gain support comes from co-workers who encourage you to keep on doing better. What I have learned about working in the creative business is that at times it isn’t as hands-on as some may think it is; There will be times when you’re sitting at a desk filing or typing contracts. I have learned that a creative job is definitely something I would love to do as a future career. I learned too that I am more of a person who likes a changing schedule every once and awhile and a person who would love a more kinetic sort of job. Swallow Hill has a very flexible schedule and that is something I love, the freedom to work when you’d like to. In the creative business there is so many different things you can do from, the basics like, art or music to more of a complex subset of them, such as business or management. Interning has taught me that there is so many different directions I can take a music major as I prepare going into college.
Blog 6- How do people at work treat you? How does it make you feel? If you have in intern one day will you treat them the same? What have you learned so far from your co-workers and sponsor?
My co-workers are AMAZING because they treat me with respect and honesty. At times I do feel like I am missing out on some of the in the loop sort of things that go on. I know I miss out because my Swallow Hill email keeps me updated on birthdays bashes and holiday celebrations, but they always tend to land on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the two days that I don’t go to my internship. When my co-workers do talk to me it makes me feel connected with the intern role and a part of the group here at Swallow Hill. When I get older I would definitely have an intern work for me; I would treat them the same as the community here at Swallow Hill. I have never encountered anyone here that has distastefully looked nor talked to me in an inappropriate manner. On our down time I have learned so much about the staff around me. On Saturday or Friday nights I have the honor to work with Dustin and either Hanna or Lindsay. From Dustin I learned that he is a fan of Bob Dylan and that you shouldn’t pay to go CU Boulder when you can go to Metro for the same education and for way cheaper. I learned from Hanna that she has a cute dog, that I met, and mostly everything that is behind the scenes with contracts and performance planning. Finally what I learned from Lindsay is how to make the best of having a consistent job and how to work on my conversation skills with the people around me. I love the community here at Swallow Hill.
Blog 5- How do you feel like your internship is going so far? What are the highlights and the “low lights”? Do you feel like you are making connections with your co-workers? What can you do to improve your experience?
I feel like my internship is going super well, I enjoy everything I do and I make the most out of it. The only problem is that it’s hard to get involved with the creative side of this job; I feel like there isn’t any creative part to this job. I can’t imagine doing this as a career when I get older either. I love Swallow Hill and the opportunity I was given but I hate to say it but this may not be a fit for me. There is many highlights, like running shows and meeting new people, but being a consistent same thing every day sort of job isn’t for me. I love the connections I am making with the co-workers, they’re really supportive of my abilities and they are respectable. Some low lights that this internship has besides the same schedule, has to be the extra time waiting for the end of the performance. I do not know how to expand or improve my experience, since this is a very logistical job. If I wanted to make it more active one of the only ways would be if I payed for lessons. The lessons would be discounted of course, but for five weeks it would be about 75 dollars. It would be the only way to make more of the whole experience. Everything is going well even after my few weeks leave, thanks to the play, but being back has reminded me of how much I missed it.
Blog 4- What tends to be you overall thoughts on everything internship has offered? What has been challenging recently and how are you going to fix it?
The happy smile and positive attitude that follows me as I stroll through Swallow Hill is what I love most about it. Everyone treats me as a professional worker and with respect. I am highly blessed with being able to attend such a proactive place in the music community. I enjoy the culture around the foundation of Swallow Hill and the diversity that is expanded within their walls. It is amazing to me and I feel comfortably content at Swallow Hill. Though I am very saddened by my lack of attendance recently. Having the responsibility of the school play and the high demand of practice, I haven’t had too much time to put in the hours. I will try to work Saturdays in March in order to make up for the lost time, which shouldn’t be a problem. My only worry is getting a late start on my project proposal. I plan to take action the next time my sponsor is with me at Swallow Hill. What I do enjoy about Swallow Hill is the flexibility of scheduling. It taught me that you need to be accountable and responsible for your own time. Most jobs don’t have as much flexibility but in the music industry you’re going to need to work crazy hours. Beside the hours I am excited for the time when I can go back after the school play. That will be a time when I can actually engulf myself a little bit more into the Swallow Hill subculture.
Blog 3-how does your actions effect your work place? Do you contribute positively? How does your co-workers actions effect your internship? What co workers are you connecting with?
My attitude has a huge effect on the people around me. If I am positive, my co-workers will also be happier to work with me on site. Not only am I interacting with people I work with but I am working with the public. When I say hello to elders and people it brightens their day, they’re always gleeful when I talk to them in a mannerly way, always ready to help. When I bring joy to the people I am interacting with, I help the reputation of Swallow Hill. It makes locals want to come back. When my co-workers are in a bad attitude I try my hardest to say with my good positive mood. It can possibly be hard when my co-workers are angry and are too demanding of my services but I always remember to be mindful and calm. Mostly I connect with my sponsor, Hanna of course, but I also recently been hanging out with some really cool co-workers named Lindsey and Dustin. Creating this good connection with these people had enabled me to feel welcome and content interning here. These people specifically have supported me on days where I am on my own at the work site and need help. My co-workers are mostly in a laid back mood so I never need to stress about my schedule or any tasks provided for me. I feel like I am contributing quite positively to the Swallow Hill environment even though I am an intern and only doing minor things. My actions are defiantly leaving a positive print here and I am proud of that.
Blog 2-What was the best thing that happened this week at your internship? How did it make you feel? What else makes you excited about your internship?
This week was slow and when things are steady you start to socialize with your new co-workers. That is was probably the best thing that happened to me over this week. It is so wonderful when you can go out and start to make new friends at the work place. Even though my sponsor wasn’t there and I had to work on my own, this still gave me the experience of a work place. I am always excited to work the shows we put on. The show we this week was called The Moth, where people would tell their stories and the best one would go on some sort of podcast. But while I was maintaining the front desk and scanning tickets I shared multiple stories with my co-workers; learning about them and just communicating. This made me feel good and joyous because I feel like I am welcomed into Swallow Hill and they treat me like I am a adult. The workload is complicated at times but everyone there is just willing to help. The nights get to be a little long due to the Late concerts but that’s okay because that gives me more time to get to know the people around me. To some people slow days may be terrible and lead to a longing to go home but I feel like these days are when I can get to know the people around me. These are the days I get to engage in the business part of music and it gives me a new side to who I may want to be when I go to college.
Blog 1-
What did you learn from your first week at your internship? Did anything surprise you? Who did you meet and what do they do? Did you engage in any code switching?
As I walk into the doors at 71 East Yale, workers welcomed me warmly. I had to introduce myself to the main desk and had they had to call down my sponsor, Hanna. Right off the bat I had to code switch. I needed to be presentable so the attitude that I had earlier disappeared and my sleepiness from school became non-existent. Normally I don’t cuss but surprisingly, I noticed that most of my co-workers all cuss openly. I was also surprised to find out that at Swallow Hill has a recording studio downstairs. I was truly flabbergasted at the community; this place had an environment that was a perfect fit for me. I met a variety of people who do multitudes of jobs. There was the financial jobs, the show jobs, the communication jobs, etc. this was new to me because I realized that there was many directions of jobs I can do, once I get into the music career. This type of job is a mix of both hands on and cubical work, which I found to be cool. It was weird to be doing a logical sort of job,my expectation wouldn’t have fitted with the most cubical environment. Later, I got to take a first hand look at several different types of contracts for multiple musicians. It was overwhelming. When I started to work on show night, I did get to see and meet some of the performers themselves. I had to code switch to be more professional. I had to make it seem to the band that I was a actual employee at Swallow Hill. After my first week I learned there are so many types of jobs in the music industry and code switching is essential to being a good employee.