Interning (virtually) at ABT has been an incredible experience and I am beyond grateful I had the opportunity to learn and work at this incredible organization. Although I have volunteered at organizations in the past, this experience was the first time I had ever interned at a non-profit. When I applied I knew I was ready to get some finance experience at a non-profit and bring some of my accounting skills to the organization. Additionally, I had not stepped into a ballet studio since the age of six, however, art and the performing arts have always been an important part of my life. I love to paint and would help with the dance and theater productions at my school whenever I had the chance. Therefore, interning at ABT allowed me to experience another side of productions I had never seen before, finance.
The projects I was given during my internship helped me understand the operations going on behind the ballet productions, like payroll, depreciation schedules, prepaid expenses, and even tax forms! I learned a lot about what goes into making performances come to life through unconventional ways. For example, preparing the depreciation schedule for fixed assets allowed me to learn more about productions and which materials, costumes, and props goes into creating them. (I also discovered ABT’s production of Whipped Cream and went down a rabbit hole researching that show!!) Additionally, Godwin and Sandra were amazing to work with and the projects and guidance they offered helped make this internship an incredible learning experience. I learned more about payroll with Sandra’s help and even with complications due to the virtual nature of this internship and the sensitive information I was dealing with, I was still able to complete many projects. Also, Godwin is an incredible mentor and truly made this internship a chance for me to learn. The skills I acquired through each project helped me understand how the accounting concepts I am learning in class apply in a real organization.
Finally, I am grateful for the (virtual) community I was able to join through my ABT internship. Although I was in California, I still felt very much connected to the ABT community, especially through Kara’s and Kevin’s kind and informative emails they would send out. Additionally, Dennis’s weekly Friday meetings gave all the interns a chance to regroup and learn useful technical skills, from writing a good cover letter to acing an interview. I also enjoyed all the amazing guest speakers from across different departments at ABT who shared their interesting experiences and fascinating stories.
I am so grateful I had a chance to be part of ABT and contribute to this organization’s mission. Although my internship ends soon, this is definitely not goodbye, I can’t wait to finally visit the studio in person!!!
Allia Al-Darmaki
Finance Intern
Spring 2021
abtinterns 
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