My Summer as a NatureC Intern
As a TIPS intern with NatureC’s art program, Diana (left) assists with classroom activities at Rainier Vista.
Guest post: Diana, 16, has been spending her summer interning with our youth art program at Rainier Vista through the Teens in Public Service (TIPS) program. Every summer, TIPS offers teens paid internships with nonprofits across Puget Sound.
When working with children, it’s all about the little things. Comforting a child, keeping an eye out for them, or finding a way to give them the miniscule boost of confidence needed to be passionate about art without embarrassment, to be more patient, to put their hardships aside, to feel important and therefore become important: to allow them to succeed. When you’re five years old, you know only bits of English, and who knows what you’re hearing at home, I’ve learned that every word matters. And luckily, though at the bottom of Nature Consortium’s totem pole, I have been given the power to give them these words and impact their early lives, which in turn impacts me as well.
Before beginning my work with Nature Consortium this summer, when I heard the word “intern” I would imagine some kind of scene out of The Devil Wears Prada: a frazzled intern being verbally abused, performing the dirty work that nobody wants to do, while rarely connecting with the meaning of their workplace. This summer, I’ve likewise had to get my hands dirty, from cleaning up ancient paint spills in the art room, to digging erasers out of a screaming three-year-olds’ mouth. The difference comes in the way I legitimately feel my work is helping the children Nature Consortium works with and addressing community problems and inequalities head on.
On a daily basis, my work has included assisting my supervisor and teaching artists with teaching art classes, researching art projects and activities, cleaning and organizing the art studio, and data entry. I find the work fulfilling, enjoyable, and true to Nature Consortium’s mission of connecting people, arts, and nature, showing that even I, at the tip of the iceberg, am fully immersed in the goals, and meaning of the organization. I have learned that Nature Consortium cares about giving kids accessible art classes, not only to keep them busy and out of trouble this summer, but to foster caring amongst the kids about the power and necessity of art, and the current dilemmas of the environment, something that has already become much more of a focus of mine since the start of my internship.
– Diana, 16, TIPS Intern