Hi everyone!
My name is Alex Gallagher, and I am currently working as ABT’s Spring 2017 Patron Ticketing Intern. I am an undergraduate student at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business and I plan to major in Global Business with a double concentration in Marketing/Consumer Insights and Healthcare Management. So how did I get to ABT, you might ask? Well, I grew up dancing ballet for thirteen years, four of which were actually spent here at ABT’s JKO School, so in some ways, 890 Broadway feels like home to me. This semester I was looking to gain some professional experience and explore a potential career in arts administration, and I thought what better place to do that than here at ABT.
I thought I’d share a bit about what my typical day looks like in the Development Office as well as some of the extra events I have gotten to take part in. As a Patron Ticketing Intern, the vast majority of the work I do, deals with preparing and recording ticket orders for ABT members that belong in the Golden Circle category and above (A Patron, the first level of giving in the Golden Circle, entails an annual donation of $1200). When a ticket request has been placed, it is my job to prepare an order form if it hasn’t been done already, record the details of the order on a tracking sheet, and prepare copies of the order to send to the Metropolitan Opera House Box Office for processing. When the tickets are returned to ABT, I then have to enter the final data into Raiser’s Edge, ABT’s database, and prepare envelopes to send tickets back to the members. In all stages of the ticketing process, attention to detail is crucial. Whether it is making sure the right performance and number of tickets are entered on an order form, checking that the Met printed the correct tickets, or reviewing my database entries, it is important that everything is double checked not only for the sake of the patrons receiving the tickets but also for the ABT staff that will use the data for future donor interactions. While data entry may not sound like the most glamorous work, it is actually quite important in facilitating a high level of customer service for ABT members. After having only previously been exposed to the dancer side of a ballet company, it has been immensely interesting to me to learn about the administrative side of the organization both in the work I do every day and in meeting and listening to staff members in other departments.
In addition to all of the office work I do each week, I have also been able to participate in a number of events held for ABT donors. Whether it was weekend studio visits, a rehearsal preview of Alexei Ratmansky’s new ballet Whipped Cream, or the Young Patron’s Evening post-performance party, it has been wonderful to see the administrative and artistic sides of the company come together and interact with ABT donors.
My experience at ABT has been nothing but positive, and I attribute that to the wonderful people I have been fortunate enough to interact with. The ABT staff has been incredibly friendly and helpful to me, and this has made all of the work I have done quite enjoyable. Of course it has also been lovely to interact with a number of ABT patrons and to share in the joy they experience at ABT!
I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to work for this incredible organization, and as my internship comes to a close I am making sure to soak up each moment I have at ABT!
Alex Gallagher
Patron Ticketing Intern
Spring 2017
abtinterns 
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