During my time at ABT as the Fall 2018 Special Events intern, I was able to grow, thrive, and eventually ultimately bloom in my passion for events and even the art of ballet. And not only did I experience many different areas of events and ballet in my role as the Special Events intern, I was able to learn a lot from these experiences and from the people around me. From my many exciting and glamorous experiences, like the time I helped plan a Netflix screening for the new Netflix Original movie Girl or attending and assisting in various different areas in the 2018 Fall Gala, I have experienced many different types of events and their respective planning that have allowed me to grow in my professional abilities. Not only were the events I was helping to produce extraordinary in nature, so were the people around me, such as my coworkers (although I like to refer to them as “friends.)” Whether I was working with my immediate advisor, the amazing Claire, one of the many other interns I befriended and worked alongside, or the Executive Director, I was always treated with the utmost respect and always as a friend.
In planning these various exciting events, I was not always given the most tedious tasks as I was only an intern. At ABT, interns are highly utilized, so you will never have a dull moment during your time there. While I did spend some time every now and then working on projects such as invitations, donor files, and communicating with our lovely patrons, the Special Events team also looped me in to work on larger projects such as attending quarterly meetings, shadowing on phone calls with sponsors or vendors, and even directing the dancers to the red carpet on the night of the Gala. Needless to say, my time at ABT was very educational and intriguing, and I was given a lot of responsibilities by the team, which was an amazing experience and feeling.
If there is one thing you need to know from reading this, it is that I implore you to check out ABT, whether that means attending any one of the amazing performances, following them on social, or even applying to be an intern. The experiences, friends, opportunities, and lessons you will have will grow and shape you as a person, and stay with you forever. While my time at ABT may be up for now, I will definitely make sure to attend the amazing performances in the near future.
Maxson Thomas
Special Events Intern
Fall 2018
abtinterns 
Leave a Reply