Rachel Wilson’s Turn
Rapping About Summer In Seattle
by Rachel Wilson
Every spring semester, I spend roughly a month, typically in February, pulling my hair out over the internship search and grant application process. This month wouldn’t be so bad, were my professors polite enough to lay off on the readings and endless research papers, but no such luck exists at Bryn Mawr. Instead, they’ve got me by the ponytail, holding on strong while dangling the prospect of summer funding ahead of me, and no one is going to back down from free money. Money that will hopefully allow you to invest in some Rogaine to mend that bald spot you’d been working on for that one terrible month in the spring. And it doesn’t matter how bad it got, because when the summer comes, you know you are going to do the same thing next year, because it makes that amazing internship you’ve nabbed, possible. This is the second summer Bryn Mawr has supported my interest in the media arts, and this summer I decided I wanted to be a part of the Seattle film community.
I always approach internships with worst-case scenarios lodged in my head. I convince myself that I will have to pull out all the stops to make sure my attire is as sharp and as business classy as I can muster, that I should expect to make endless amounts of coffee, and prepare myself for an onslaught of menial labor. And while I have been lucky to avoid such an internship position so far, I continue to be surprised by the actual work and work environment I find myself in, and 911 Media Arts Center was no exception. Instead of cardigans and pencil skirts, I was able to wear clothes that I was comfortable in, clothes I could imagine doing real work in. I’ve always felt like a dress code inhibits and confines a person, and is a silly exterior way to judge the merits of a workspace. 911 is comprised of amazingly intelligent and hardworking people wearing shorts and flip-flops, and I really couldn’t imagine it any other way. And while 911 Media Arts Center does indeed run on caffeine, they respect my dislike for coffee and have never asked me to make them some, though I expect they’ve picked up on the fact that I wouldn’t know what to do. The menial work in particular is one aspect of internships I fully expect, but once again I was both excited and comforted by the fact that all the work I did and continue to do, regardless of its initial importance, has always served to help the center. Non-profit work is by no means glamorous, but is certainly rewarding in many exciting ways. I have been able to take part in the Seattle International Film Fest, watching films and posting reviews on 911’s social network, meet an amazingly diverse and intelligent group of people working within the realm of media arts, get a first hand perspective on the Seattle arts community, get some valuable first-hand experience in running a non-profit, and watch as 911 adapts, celebrates, and works within the community. This has been the most amazing summer in my college career to date, and I have gained so much respect and admiration for the work that 911 Media Arts Center does, and its place within the amazing city of Seattle.
After having interned at 911 Media Arts Center for almost three months now, I can think of no other place that better serves the Seattle community. To me, 911 Media Arts Center is the ideal non-profit, consistently catering to the communities various media needs, fostering creativity in the arts, and enabling people to come together to build upon each others experiences. 911 is a secondary home and community center, a place to feel comfortable enough throw around thoughts and ideas that might even manifest themselves in ways you never thought possible. In my three months here, I have never felt stretched beyond my means, but have been challenged day to day in trying to understand that with a small amount of resources themselves, they are still able to be an amazing resource for others. I hope to take that and apply it to my own life, and serve as a resource within the Bryn Mawr community. I have made friends here and gained some very practical knowledge that will continue to influence me when I return to school, and even on through my future career. 911 Media Arts Center is a place I will most certainly return in the future, and a community and internship I will undoubtedly miss when I return to school.
