July 16, 2013
Sunny Days
On July 3rd, I attended the LA County Arts Commission Interns’ Summit. When my mother asked about my day, this is the first story I told her:
She was not surprised when she heard it ended like this:
Betcha missed the fact that I changed my outfit, huh?
Understandably, her first reaction was to bring me some agua de chía and grab my agenda. She knew better than to ask anything else until I was refreshed.
“So you had speakers, two workshops, a chance to meet your fellow interns, and a tour of Downtown LA?”
“And popsicles, don’t forget those!”
In all seriousness, it was an excellent experience, and I feel very fortunate to have been a part of it. What I appreciated the most was the opportunity for direct interactions.
As usual, I’m the only one cracking up while everyone else is cracking a smile.
For example, my mother was surprised to hear I attended a marketing workshop, when I take marketing courses year-round at Georgetown. She wondered if it wouldn’t have been wiser to diversify. But how could I pass up the chance to meet experts in the industry and specialty I wish to take on? I learned so much from the questions we posed and from stories that were shared.
The LA Arts Commission could have ended the event with the workshops—we would have been out of there before noon.
Instead, I am so pleased we were able to participate in the rest of the activities together. By the end of the day, my Learning Community Group (the groups in which the 74 of us are separated) had a team name: OPERATION FABULOSITY (Shout out to fellow intern Sarah Bedo for the fabulous name.). How’s that for bonding?
All the LA County Arts Commission Interns at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. See if you can spot Waldo!
As for the tour, you should know that I have lived in Los Angeles my whole life. That day, we explored the Pueblo de Los Angeles. Twenty-and-a-half years ago, I was baptized at La Placita, and from the time I was four, I would visit any time I needed new dance shoes or accessories for my folklórico group. So you could say that area and I are…acquainted.
Still, I learned so much from our guide. It never occurred to me that this was a historically significant spot. I never bothered to look any of that information up for myself—it took a direct encounter with an enthusiast for me to discover all this.
Overall, the Summit was highly successful—at least for me. Yes, I returned home tired, dehydrated, and incoherent, but it was all worth it. After all, you can’t beat the power of a face-to-face conversation, let alone several.
Written by Araceli Castillo, Cornerstone’s Development & Communications Intern. Araceli is studying Marketing and OPIM (Operations and Information Management) with a French minor at Georgetown University. This internship is made possible by Los Angeles County Arts Commission Summer Internship program. Araceli created the cartoons above with the Bistrips app on Facebook.
