Interns at UA’s Creative Campus Initiative Grab the Reins

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Inside Maxwell Hall on any given afternoon, small groups of The University of Alabama’s Creative Campus Initiative interns are at work on a variety of projects. On one day, they’re discussing the arts with national leaders. On another, they’re finding ways to draw different kinds of people to a concert, designing large pieces of artwork or planning projects that unite different disciplines and groups on campus, like music, dance, interior design, advertising and technology.

One such project involved the campuswide UA Green Fair last October in the heart of campus. Emily Roberson, an undergraduate from Madison, was deeply involved in coordinating Creative Campus’s programs at Green Fair, including an art contest and auction. UA students, faculty and staff were invited to enter art for consideration. About half the art pieces were up for auction, Roberson said. UA students and other passers-by could appreciate the art display.

“People enjoyed bidding,” says Roberson, who also serves on The University of Alabama Environmental Council. “They enjoyed being able to come out and see art in the middle of the day, outside. The specific subject matter of the art, too – a lot of people really enjoyed that. The contest entrants had the choice of entering works that confronted environmental issues or showed a general appreciation for nature, or were made from recycled materials.”

Creative Campus’s intern program forms one of the core components of the group’s mission, which is “dedicated to building a collaborative environment, where students can connect with each other, faculty, and their community in turning innovative ideas into action.”

Among recent projects Creative Campus interns and staff engaged in were the commissioning of a musical composition to commemorate the victims of a tornado in Enterprise and the visit to the campus of Norman Fischer, a Zen priest and poet. The initiative also provided opportunities for interns to engage with internationally known figures in the creative arts, including Colleen Jennings-Roggenack, vice president of cultural affairs for Arizona State University and an international consultant for arts development, and Sir Ken Robinson, a champion of the arts in education and leading consultant on creativity.

Student-oriented

Creative Campus publishes The Missing Ink, an online e-zine that allows students to write feature articles and reviews of arts events on campus, and manages Crimson Arts Tickets, a project that has provided unified cultural arts ticketing for the UA community.

But those are just a couple of the ongoing work Creative Campus Initiative interns engage in. The entire focus of Creative Campus is centered on undergraduate and graduate students.

“What is special and unique about The University of Alabama’s Creative Campus Initiative is the way in which it is student-centered,” says Dr. Hank Lazer, associate provost for academic affairs, who supervises Creative Campus. “Everything we do involves the student interns, and that has proven to be so noteworthy that Ohio State University has studied what we’re doing, as have representatives from the United Kingdom Arts Council, to see the value of a student-centered initiative.

“Other institutions work to deepen arts experiences on and off campus. But, to my knowledge, there’s nowhere else in the United States where that initiative is so focused on the work and activity of undergraduate and graduate students,” Lazer said. “We’re very proud of the work that’s done by our interns.”

Creative Campus offers two kinds of internships – full-year and project-oriented. Right now, the initiative has 10 full-year and eight project-oriented interns. Graduate or undergraduate students can climb on board in either position. The full-year interns are paid and work from 10 to 20 hours a week.

“These full year interns are the heart of Creative Campus, and, while working their internship, are the people who ‘turn ideas into action,’” says Alexis Clark, Creative Campus coordinator. “They, at times, work on their own ideas that are generated from within the Creative Campus Initiative, and, at times, they work on ideas that are offered to CCI from outside sources, like the faculty/staff or community members.”

The project-oriented interns come on for five or six weeks for a specific assignment and can be paid or unpaid.

“Essentially, project-based interns are employed to turn specific ideas into action in a specific time frame,” Clark says. “The interns present a collaborative idea to the Creative Campus staff in a proposal, and, upon review, the intern is ‘hired’ based on the potential of the proposed project as well as the qualifications of the project based intern. We are actively seeking project based internships proposals at all times throughout the year, but may also choose to hire a project-based intern out of the full year internship applicants.”

For example, Angelica Agee, a junior from Montgomery, worked with another intern, Joseph Seals, to plan a jazz-and-blues lunch in October 2008. Creative Campus offered her what her spirit craved – an outlet for her desire to plan and implement a project that would foster creativity on the UA campus.

“I like the openness of Creative Campus,” says Agee, who is majoring in English with minors in Spanish and international studies. “I feel that this atmosphere is conducive to free thinking. It’s not structured – it’s not chaotic, mind you – but it really is conducive to coming up with good ideas and meeting and collaborating with students and faculty. That’s what I really like the most.”

Creative endeavors

Both Roberson and Agee were drawn to the internships by their interest in letting their creativity flow and gaining experience in managing creative enterprises. Roberson, as an advertising and public relations major, wanted to cut her teeth on a project related to her studies.

“I thought being in Creative Campus was right up my alley,” she says. “I wanted to learn stuff that will help me with my career path, which is in advertising. I’m learning a lot about marketing in Creative Campus.”

Agee joined Creative Campus after hearing Lazer speak about it to new students and their parents during the summer at orientation sessions.

“I have a background in the arts – I was at an arts-magnet high school – and I felt that since I’m not majoring in something arts related that it was an opportunity for me to really express myself and put my talents to good use,” Agee says.

Both Roberson and Agee see the Creative Campus Initiative internships as helping them find a path to their careers while at the same time letting them broaden their creative horizons, which ultimately ties neatly into the goals of the program.

“I think the things I’ve gained from Creative Campus will help me in whatever I’m about to do, particularly in event planning,” Agee says. “All the things I do here overlap. It helps you to get organized. It helps you take ownership of a project and what needs to be done with it. Of course, that comes with responsibility. And it really helps you with networking and interacting with people in general.”

The application process

Creative Campus Initiative actively recruits interns in the spring. The initiative sends out announcements to UA faculty and staff as well e-mails students directly. It also recruits students through the Creative Campus Assembly, arts classes and other outlets. But the initiative also seeks students from all colleges equally to build a diversely skilled intern group.

During recruitment, an application deadline is announced. Upon receipt of all applications, the Creative Campus staff and current interns review and score the applications based on a set of criteria. Staff members then meet to talk about the high scorers and make cases for particular prospects who may not have scored high but bring something different to the table. Staff members then invite back the top applicants for an interview.

Potential interns go through two rounds of interviews. The first is with the staff and possibly one current intern. The second is a group interview with the only the current intern staff. Upon completion of the two interviews, the staff and current interns make the selections.

For more information on the Creative Campus Initiative program, contact: Alexis Clark by email, alexis.clark@ua.edu, or by phone, 205/348-7887.