Summer 2017 Intern Update

Summer 2017 is already flying by, and the WaterFire interns have been busy!

Spread out among 13 departments, interns play an integral role throughout the summer season. Our experiences thus far have been extremely valuable, and luckily there is still plenty of time for even more. To give you an idea of our time at WaterFire, here are some thoughts on our day-to-day responsibilities, and becoming comfortable in our positions at the office:

Everyone at WaterFire, staff and volunteers, perform valuable and important work in my opinion, and are also creating the feeling of being part of a family. WaterFire truly inspires Providence by creating this piece of art; I have had this experience already. ‘For the community, by the community.'” – Andrea Ehmke, Marketing and Development Intern

Fortunately, when I arrived at WaterFire everyone was extremely friendly and helpful. Within the first few days I felt like I was apart of the team. Teamwork is seemingly one of the most important aspects at WaterFire…I feel so fortunate to be able to learn from Anja and Allison. They are such intelligent and patient beings and I am eager to absorb as much knowledge as  I can from them throughout the duration of my time at WaterFire.” – Zara Salmon, Marketing and Development Intern

On Tuesday I spent most of my day working with the event footage from the May 19^th fire. I transferred all the footage off the SD cards and began logging the clips and placing them into the premiere project. This was just about my whole day because there was a lot of footage to look through. I also got to sit in on a staff meeting which I found to be pretty interesting. I got to hear about the different things that went right and wrong at the last fire.” – Caitlin Galamaga, Media and Videography Intern

I am now getting more comfortable around the office and I’m continuing my work with my group on the sponsorship deck, which we will present to the marketing and development team next week! I am definitely learning a lot already and can’t wait to see what the upcoming weeks have in store.” – Alexa Paradiso, Marketing and Development Intern

From photography to physical set up to merchandising and more, each intern has unique tasks to handle during and before the lightings. Event days are long, but worth it – seeing all of our hard work come to fruition is so rewarding. Here are a few things we have to say about the lightings:

After setting up during the day, I spent most of the night working the Star Field area which was really beautiful. It was definitely hectic at times, but luckily I had an expert volunteer there to teach me the ropes. It was really amazing to see all of the wishes that people made, and to watch people carrying their luminary bags.” – Conor Amrien, Volunteer Management and Engagement Intern

The day was tiring and took a lot of hard work, but it really opened my eyes to how much commitment and effort it takes to pull off WaterFire events.” – Emily Ferguson, Social Media Intern

It was such a rewarding experience to see this iconic event from the other side. Working all day was a lot of work, but completely worth it in the end. I was proud of the final product and I can’t wait for the next lighting!” – Jenn Kobza, Special Events and Operations Intern

Overall, it was an unbelievable night. We had an amazing crowd, perfect weather (besides the wind), and the fires looked great.” – Alex Benoit, Social Media Intern

During my first official Waterfire I got the honor of following in the procession of torches as well as following the procession of flags. Being behind the torches and keeping everything in check vs. watching them as a visitor of the event, is a pretty cool place to be. I got to see how everything was set up and even got to see parts of Waterfire that I have never seen before.” – Samantha Dehner, Special Events and Operations Intern

On Saturday I got to experience my second fire here as an intern. All the anxiety that I had gone into the first fire with was completely gone. I felt a lot more comfortable this time around having done it once already.” – Caitlin Galamaga, Media and Videography Intern

We recently had our Interns Scavenger Hunt in which we split into four teams and explored Providence in search of various locations and landmarks. Each one we found gave our team a certain amount of points. We followed clues provided to us on an app and competed to get the most points! Despite of the rainy weather, it was a great way to get to know each other and the city of Providence a little better. Here’s a little bit of what we thought about the experience:

The interns all came together for a scavenger hunt across downtown Providence. It was nice getting to meet all of the other interns, and engage in some shenanigans. I also may or may not have almost slipped down the steps of the state house like 6 times.” – Conor Amrien, Volunteer Management and Engagement Intern

It was fun to get to the explore the city, even if it began to rain. My fitbit was happy with over 3 miles walked!” – Allison Bacon, Non-Profit Management Intern

Check out the Internship Tumblr Blog for a more in-depth look into our experiences so far, and to keep up with us in the future! For detailed descriptions of each internship position, as well as application instructions, visit our website.

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Emily Ferguson

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Social Media Intern at WaterFire | McGill University 2019

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