More than half of college students nationwide complete internships, making the experience an essential credential for competition in the current job market. Oglethorpe places a high priority on providing opportunities for students to gain practical experience through internships and other experiential learning.

Here, studio art major Nicole Kang ’12 shared her internship experience with us back in 2010:

I am the head intern at Atlanta’s oldest gallery, Chastain Arts Center and Gallery. The gallery director, my supervisor, asked me to curate and organize a college student show in-between major exhibits at our gallery. In this exhibit, the student work was pinned on the gallery walls by the students themselves—hence the title of the exhibit, “Push It.”

As students expressed interest in participating, I was in charge of jurying the pieces that could be part of the exhibit. I wanted the show to feel dynamic and exciting, so I selected works that varied in media, size, colors, and concepts. After denying and approving images of works for the show, I kept the participants in close contact to provide them with information and procedures. To market the event, I created fliers and posted them across the Oglethorpe campus and throughout the arts center. Through Facebook, I was able to announce the event and invite everyone and anyone I knew.

Everything came together on the day of the opening reception on November 12. Right after classes, I spent the day at the Center setting up food, drinks, and waiting for participants to arrive one by one with their works. I directed the participants with the arrangement of their works in the gallery space, and made sure that all of their works were properly catalogued. In all, the show included between two and eight works of art from 20 different student artists, including photography, drawing, painting, prints, and mixed media. Several students ended up selling some of their works. I played the role as the intermediary between the artist and the buyer.

The show attracted 130 people. I made sure to greet and introduce myself to all of the groups that came to the reception. I took time to speak with family and friends of each artist, and encouraged them to further their exploration in art. The event was a great success and a wonderful experience.