INTERNSHIP STORIES

My name is Hans Harland-Hue and I’m a senior Environmental Design major with a concentration in spatial design. I am interested in Biomimetic Architecture and sustainability. I was an intern at Architectural Alliance (AA) which specializes in both commercial and residential design. I found out about the firm through Owen Van Essen, who just happened to be a client and good friend of President and Founder of AA, Eric Enfield. I sent him an email and was asked to come in to show my work and what skills I want to develop further. I was hired immediately.  Architectural Alliance is a very small firm, consisting of Eric Enfield (AIA Board member) President and Founder of AA), Hunter Redman(Architect, draftsman, project manager, residence designer), Daniel Lujan (Draftsman and project manager, commercial designer) and Dorrie (receptionist). Because there are so few members, all were given multiple jobs.  When I starte...

I am a Senior Painting Major with a minor in Critical Theory. During the summer of  2012, I was an intern at Atlantic Center For the Arts (ACA) in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The ACA is an interdisciplinary artist residency organization that provides visual, literary, and performing artists the facilities and time to work and collaborate. For each three-week residency, has three experienced “Master Artists,” are selected by a council to mentor a group of beginning and mid-career Associates. While ACA’s Advisory Council picks the Masters, the Masters select the Associates from artists who have submitted to the program. Aside from its main campus, ACA also runs a community arts center downtown, which holds events and public lectures, as well as summer art classes. This year ACA has also begun its Community Artists in Residence program. While I have intended to run a studio practice out of school, I have also wanted to engage with the arts...

My name is Sophie Moore and I am a Junior Graphic Design Major. Over the summer of 2012, I was one of the two Graphic Design Interns for the fashion house, Oscar de la Renta. I was very lucky to have received this internship because it is very competitive to get internships in New York City especially with a fashion brand. Brockett Horn, the chair of the Graphic Design department at MICA, was the one who emailed me with the information about this internship. I immediately followed through and contacted Marissa Kraxberger, who was my supervisor throughout the internship. We had a phone interview and then that was that. Oscar de la Renta is one of the oldest and most well known American fashion designers. His brand now consists of Ready to Wear, Resort, Bridal, Fragrance and Children’s. The team is small for a well-known fashion brand but has many hardworking talented people. One of the many talented people on the Oscar team was ...

I’m Audrey Gair, a rising sophomore in MICA’s painting department. This summer I interned for Bas Fisher Invitational alongside Jim Drain and Naomi Fisher. How this came to be is thanks to a long chain of fortunate events. During my senior year of high school I was selected as a finalist in the YoungArts competition. A panel of established artists served as our mentors during the week we spent with YoungArts. Naomi Fisher, a Miami based but internationally known artist was one of these panelists. The summer after I graduated high school I participated in a collaborative art installation with other high school students that was hosted by Locust Projects, an art space in Miami, Florida. The group took several field trips to artists studios in the area, one of them being Bas Fisher Invitational, the space created by and run by Naomi Fisher. I was able to see Naomi again, and this time I saw her space and her work in process. At the time, she h...

My name is Dana Chang and I’m a sophomore Photography major. Over the summer of 2012, I returned to Noel Barnhurst Photographer’s studio in San Francisco. Noel is a prominent food photographer is the San Francisco area.  Although I was based in the same studio from the previous year, my responsibilities had tripled within even my first day back. I found the internship through simple research while doing my senior project about food photography for high school. I cold called Noel one afternoon, and he agreed to be my mentor for the project. After commuting up to San Francisco a few times to use the studio for my project and sit in on a few photo shoots, I was hired within the month. This year, I worked directly underneath Noel on set. Although my main title was First Photo Assistant, I had many other responsibilities that were not tied to the standard title. I was also in  charge of Noel’s public image, specifically by representing ...