Final Weeks as an ABT Intern

By Paige McGovern, Education and Training Programs Intern

This week marks my final week as an ABT Intern, what a great summer it has been! As a former dancer potentially looking to embark on a career path in arts administration, this internship was the perfect taste of what a career in this field would offer. Working with the Education and Training Department for the National Training Curriculum gave me insight to how the administrative side of a non-profit company operates.

In the weeks leading up to the New York teacher trainings I assisted Jenna Bitterman, National Training Curriculum Manager, and Meghan Love, National Training Curriculum Assistant, with tasks such as processing payments, creating schedules, and organizing Affiliate Exam results.

This week was one of our busiest all summer; it was the Primary through Level 3 teacher training. Over 100 teachers came to the course making it the National Training Curriculum’s largest training session yet! The three weeks of teacher trainings were my favorite of the summer, Jenna and Meghan kept me very involved.

When the teachers arrived I had to point them in the right direction and answer any questions they may have had. The building got extremely busy with so many teachers. I then helped with updating schedules, creating invoices, selling boutique items, and I even learned how the budget is created. One day I even got to take a ballet class with the teachers! I really enjoyed watching the lectures and classes taking place, since before this internship I was uneducated as to what the National Training Curriculum was.

On the last day of my internship I got to proctor and grade the written exam that the teachers were taking. It was a great way to come full circle this summer from starting with the planning and ending with exams. I am sad to see my internship come to an end, but I have met so many amazing people and have learned so much that I can take with me in the future.