This summer I had the opportunity to intern with Athens Arts- a local 501(C)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to provide educational programs, workshops, and showcase artists and their work.
My internship began by helping them move from a deteriorating building into a slightly smaller space with better infrastructure and a believed tighter connection with the community.
Throughout the process, I was grateful to collaborate in two settings of their gallery. This opportunity enabled me to adjust the hanging works, categorize the works, and create a layout considering foot traffic when people experience the gallery. It was a fantastic moment to bring to the table a suggestion of lowering the hanging works to enable elementary students’ better access to all the works during their tours.
There were so many countless opportunities that it would be hard to get into all of them in-depth. From leading and assisting with instructive art classes with participants of varied age ranges to planning the upcoming Athens Arts’ Art Quest (a local scavenger hunt!) tentatively coming this September.
This internship also enabled me to use my Microsoft data analysis and visualization skills to create custom solutions and provide insights regarding current difficulties and questions Athens Arts would like to address. Time is a valuable commodity at non-profits, I was excited to collaborate with the members to find solutions and enable more efficient data entry and analysis.
One major project was examining, consolidating, analyzing, and visualizing their 5databases with up to 8 years of data per database. The information was consolidated, then used to create a contacts list to aid with continued connection with their community. This list also aimed to enable quicker and more flexible creation of mailing labels. After having established a preferred layout for the contacts list, I created a VBA-coded Microsoft Excel form to enable automated formatting, rearrangement, and consolidation of data from all 5 databases to enable the non-profit to quickly continue adding to their contacts list in the years to come.
The contacts list provided additional opportunities for analysis, one being the ability to look at where clients of Athens Arts are located throughout the U.S.
I would like to thank Career Services for their assistance in creating this unique internship opportunity through their connections, the Dill Fund for the financial support and thus opportunity to have an amazing summer internship, and the Athens Arts staff and board for their generosity and willingness to let me be a part of their team!
