I have been reluctant to write this post till the last moment as I still I have one week to stay at this lovely place. I don’t want to get too sentimental too before my final goodbyes.
While I have done several internships in both small start-ups and large corporations, this internship at ABT can definitely be credited with many “firsts.” I came here from China to attend a graduate program at Columbia, this internship is my first time to work abroad, and after leaving ABT in mid-August, I will have been in America for one year. There are many other “firsts” as one can imagine, but I won’t count them here. I’ll divide my post about ABT into three parts: ballet, people, and tasks.
One reason that ABT’s Summer Internship is so attractive is of course because of their season at the Metropolitan Opera House! I have to admit that unlike other interns, most of whom learned dance and had a strong connection with ABT before they came, I knew little about ABT and even less about ballet. As a student in an arts administration program, I am interested in interning at great arts organizations, for their artistic achievements and administrative success. Before interning at ABT, my only experience with ballet was The Nutcracker a year and a half a year ago. However, this summer I had so many opportunities to watch ballet, which has totally turned me into a huge fan. (Good job, ABT!)
As for the people, everyone here is so nice! As a Strategic Initiative intern, I have worked and had meetings with staff from several departments including: executive office, marketing, education, development, etc. They have all been friendly, helpful, and funny! I would especially thank my mentor Ophelia and another Strategic Initiative Intern Hannah – you both constantly make my day! Busy or not, I enjoyed working on projects with these two great co-workers and chatting about the industry, musicals, food, and everything! More importantly, I cannot thank them enough for instructing me whenever I have questions and offering suggestions whenever I need one. What makes the workplace even more exciting is that I can meet lots of talented dancers, hear the music and see them dance every time I pass by the studios!
Finally, for my tasks, I will try to describe them in two sentences: (1) ABT values the skills and the interests of its interns – my mentor asked me to select the projects I would like to work on and the intern program provided weekly meetings inviting guest speakers from various fields. (2) These tasks are really meaningful to me – I was challenged and excited by the projects I chose, gaining knowledge about what direction to take and what skills I should develop.
To wrap up my nonsense, I would like to thank ABT – the journey was enchanting.
Rachel Huang
Strategic Initiatives Intern
Summer 2018
abtinterns 
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