{"id":287,"date":"2012-06-28T09:52:07","date_gmt":"2012-06-28T13:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.wabash.edu\/littlegiants-bigresults\/?p=287"},"modified":"2025-07-08T19:32:54","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T19:32:54","slug":"jeremy-mcdonald-13-manage-or-be-managed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/plastics\/2012\/06\/28\/jeremy-mcdonald-13-manage-or-be-managed\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeremy McDonald ’13: Manage or be Managed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jeremy McDonald ’13\u00a0<\/em>– When I first accepted this internship through the Small Business Internship Fund, I thought I had a fair idea of what I would be doing.\u00a0 One of my good friends from Wabash, Ryan Lutz, had recommended that I apply, and upon learning that I had been offered the position, proceeded to give me advice.\u00a0 Shortly after arriving and being thrust into the world of DESHO Productions, however, I realized that as helpful as his pointers may have been, there were things that they couldn\u2019t have possibly prepared me for.<\/p>\n

DESHO\u2019s president, Aisha Davis, has a favorite phrase: \u201cManage or be managed.\u201d\u00a0 As I have become immersed more deeply in this internship, I have realized just how appropriate that motto is.\u00a0 As event planners, we are expected to overcome any obstacles that could possibly arise and threaten a show from running smoothly.\u00a0 Performers not turning in the relevant forms, performers not showing up on time, meeting deadlines for press and ad releases, and so the list of potential hang-ups goes on and on, with the threat of being overwhelmed ever present.\u00a0 But it has been helpful to keep Ms. Davis\u2019 phrase in mind, to remind myself that it is my duty to manage whatever situation may arise, and not allow its difficulties to manage me.\u00a0 In any case, my ability to think on my feet has improved significantly in the short time that I have been working at DESHO.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

My primary responsibilities have included running Live! on Woodrow Wilson Plaza, an annual summer concert series that is free and open to the public, and takes place in the shadow of the Ronald Reagan Building and the EPA.\u00a0 I, along with the other interns, must make sure that the artists arrive on time, set up with the sound crew, and start both the sound check and the show on time.\u00a0 Once the show starts, I then have to take periodic decibel readings and head counts, as well as record general observations about the audience\u2019s reaction.\u00a0 At the end of the show, I then must supervise the breakdown of the stage and pay the performers.<\/p>\n

A whole host of other tasks must be accomplished before Live! even occurs, however.\u00a0 I have to send out the contracts, sound tech, security, and W-9 tax documents to the artists, and ensure that they return them to us in a timely manner.\u00a0 Then, as part of our promotional campaign to bring greater exposure to Live!, I must constantly update our social media sites, including our Facebook and Twitter pages and our blog.\u00a0 Beyond these duties, I have also been directed to draft press releases and artist bios that we send to media outlets to increase awareness of the series.\u00a0 In accomplishing these tasks, I have found that the enormous amount of writing I have done in the past three years at Wabash has served me well.<\/p>\n

Now, I suppose that up to this point I have emphasized the rigorousness of the job, but there are undeniable perks as well.\u00a0 I was lucky enough to see the Empress of Soul, Gladys Knight, in person as she kicked Live! off on June 6th<\/sup>.\u00a0 She has been far from the only talented artist to grace our stage, however, as we have had a diverse array of performers, from flamenco dancers to alternative rockers, showcase their gifts.\u00a0 It certainly has been a refreshing and entertaining experience to see the many ways in which people choose to express their artistic abilities.<\/p>\n

I have also been lucky to have the aid of a fellow Wabash man, Reggie Steele.\u00a0 He has been invaluable in helping me to acclimatize and learn how to perform all the tasks I have been entrusted with.\u00a0 I was also extremely fortunate with my housing situation, as my pledge brother Jason Farbstein has graciously allowed me to live with his family this summer for free.\u00a0 One of the selling points of Wabash is its networking capabilities, and I have had the good fortune to be a beneficiary of them this summer.\u00a0 So to close, I would like to extend a thank you to both Wabash Career Services and Ms. Davis for the opportunity they have given me.\u00a0 Now, back to work, as we have a huge salsa-themed 4th<\/sup> of July celebration to prepare for!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jeremy McDonald ’13\u00a0– When I first accepted this internship through the Small Business Internship Fund, I thought I had a fair idea of what I would be doing.\u00a0 One of my good […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-internships"],"w_featured_image_url":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/plastics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2012\/06\/DESHO-photo.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/plastics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/plastics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/plastics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/plastics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/plastics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/plastics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1014,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/plastics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287\/revisions\/1014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/plastics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/plastics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/plastics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}