My name is Jenn Bae and I am currently a senior Fibers
Major. During the summer of 2014 I was a costume studio intern for the Kennedy
Center and its affiliate, the Washington National Opera. Working with costumes
has always been my dream job, as I have made costumes to wear with friends
since I was in high school. I spent my junior year searching up any
opportunities to work in a costume shop for the summer, which is how I ended up
applying for the Kennedy Center’s internship program. I was selected out of
many applicants for one of two internship spots for this costume studio.
These past ten weeks have been really exciting for me. I
spent most of them ironing fabric, stitching garments, and being able to sit in
during meetings and fittings. I learned so much while on the job, and I felt
like this experience was very beneficial to me. I picked up many neat little
sewing tips, and improved my hand sewing by leaps and bounds. I also became
more confident in my stitching and dyeing skills, and spent time both in the
main workroom on the sewing machine and the sergers, as well as in the dye
kitchens and the craft rooms. 
I am so happy and very blessed that I was able to experience
these last ten weeks with the WNO, and I’m very pleased to say that they have
asked me to stay on past the internship for two more weeks at the end of August
right before school starts! This internship was an unpaid one, and as they are
asking me to stay on for longer to assist the Crafts Supervisor with some dye
work with two of the upcoming fall operas, they will also be paying me for the
two week duration.
All in all, I had an immensely enjoyable experience with
this internship, and it has helped me grow so much as an artist this past
summer.
