My role at CITYarts is a design intern. I work with the assistant to the Director and my supervisor who is the projects coordinator. I found the internship through Internships.com. At the time, I had gotten no answers from the three places where I interviewed the week prior and I just applied to what internships were still active.

I had an in-person interview with the Assistant to the Director. The interview process started off with a video about the organization that I had to watch. The video talked about the organization, the work that they do and it showed the different murals that they had already completed. Then I was told about the position, the organization, what I would be doing, etc. Then I asked if the interviewer had any questions for me and I was asked about my skills, my portfolio and how do I take criticism. I went through my portfolio pieces and when I showed the branding part, I was told the Creative Director would want me to get started on updating their book that they publish with the artworks of the youth from around the world if I were to get the position. As for the criticism question, I said that I appreciate constructive criticism because it helps me improve my work. I also explained that in graphic design, I cannot get emotional it’s not about me it’s about what the client wants.

At the end of the interview, I was asked to fill out a questionnaire about the organization based on the video. It asked questions like ‘what did I know before watching the video’ and ‘what new things did I learn after watching the video’ and then there was the question of what does the candidate [me in this case] want out of the internship besides experience. I wrote down that for the longest time I always wanted to combine my art with doing good. I have always wanted to use my art to help people or shed light on issues that people don’t know about or issues that are ignored. Giving back and doing good in the world is important.

I didn’t wait long to get the job offer. The next day when I was on the train on my way to another interview I received an email from the Assistant to the Director that I am accepted.