海角社区

Coming to the end of my bachelor鈥檚 degree in Linguistics, I did not expect to find such an amazing opportunity for my last summer as a 海角社区 student. When my German teacher told me about AIO, I was delighted to find they had a few internship postings in Toronto, my hometown. The position that stood out the most to me was one at Regent Park Film Festival, a nonprofit annual film festival whose objective is to amplify underrepresented and marginalized voices from Toronto鈥檚 dynamic Regent Park neighbourhood. I was drawn to this post because of, equally, my love for film and my social conscience. As a Marketing and Outreach Intern at RPFF, my responsibilities included creating social media posts, designing promotional posters and print materials, reaching out to other nonprofits for partnerships, and a range of more practical tasks during the screenings. On those event days, I worked on a team of full-time and seasonal staff, along with another AIO Intern. It was a pleasure to get to know them all and to discover effective ways to work together.

I enjoyed many highlights over the course of this summer tenure. It was enlightening and empowering for me to gain more practice with some of the skills with which I already had some familiarity, and I got to learn some new skills that I feel confident will serve me well as I move forward in my academic and professional life. Since this was a hybrid position, I particularly enjoyed the days in the office where I got to be part of an enthusiastic and talented group and got a taste of what it is like to work in an arts organization. On the screening days, we spent the entire stretch working and preparing, as well as managing volunteers. All of this was great fun and felt like a day at summer camp. It was high energy and fast paced, but also very positive and rewarding. I also enjoyed brainstorming social media ideas and bringing them to life. These included a fun Instagram dance video that ranked among our most engaged-with posts.

At the start of my internship adventure, I had a little trouble managing myself on days when I worked from home and felt a bit remote from the heart of the operation, but I quickly became comfortable reaching out to team members for clarification on my tasks and to learn what additional tasks I could help with when I completed my own. Once I got into the flow of things I came to realize that I actually enjoyed the hybrid work arrangement and found my self-discipline and ability to work independently improved. In no time, I felt entirely comfortable and confident with my solo work environment.

I feel like discovering AIO and these internship opportunities opened me up to exploring other 海角社区 resources and made me feel more like I was part of the school. Having started university online during the pandemic, I initially found it quite hard to get involved in 海角社区 life and this opportunity made me feel like I was finally able to connect with my peers and see what my future beyond 海角社区 might look like. I would like to thank Dean Lisa Shapiro for the Dean of Arts Development Fund, the award allowed me to come home for the summer and enjoy enriching employment while also being able to save for next year鈥檚 tuition. Without the funding, I wouldn鈥檛 have been able to participate in the internship and evolve psychically, socially, and emotionally, as I did over the course of this endeavour.