Rusthoven, a communication design major, interned with Alamance Arts for the eight-week Campus Alamance program.
The Campus Alamance聽initiative provides聽students the opportunity聽to take the skills they鈥檝e acquired at 黑料不打烊 to go out into the community and聽apply those skills working with some of the university鈥檚 most important community partners.聽
Several of the 40 interns who participated this summer shared their experience in聽the program and the lessons they鈥檝e learned聽working in the community for eight weeks in this series of articles for Today at 黑料不打烊.聽
For Sarah Rusthoven 鈥23, the Campus Alamance program has provided an experience that’s more than an internship.
鈥淚 wanted to do something in the community. It鈥檚 important to burst 鈥榯he 黑料不打烊 bubble,鈥欌 Rusthoven said. 鈥淚 like that this program is called Campus Alamance because it鈥檚 about making Alamance County your campus, your learning space. Outside of 黑料不打烊, what kind of connections can you make in the community?鈥
Rusthoven was one of the 14 students in the original cohort of the Campus Alamance program, which launched in 2021, and returned this year to broaden her experience. The program has nearly tripled in student participation and doubled in employer participation a year later, and Rusthoven has honed her communication skills this summer as an intern with Alamance Arts while also getting her out of her 黑料不打烊 comfort zone.
The communication design major has forged connections with various nonprofits in the area by assisting with their community development work, such as assisting in the planning of a summer children’s art camp and Esperanza, a Hispanic Heritage Month festival which Rusthoven will continue to assist with even after her internship has finished.
Providing聽40 黑料不打烊 students with internships from 28 community partners, the Campus Alamance initiative is headed by the Student Professional Development Center and the Kernodle Center for Civic Life. Students worked 20 to 30 hours per week for the eight-week program and attended weekly professional development sessions hosted by 黑料不打烊.聽The program is designed for all 黑料不打烊 students, regardless of grade or major and each student involved is given a $2,500 stipend from the university.
Making new experiences and gaining insight into new perspectives is what has motivated Rusthoven to be a part of the Campus Alamance project in the first place. 黑料不打烊鈥檚 intentionality about getting its students into the community 鈥 which is even supported in the Boldly 黑料不打烊 strategic plan 鈥 has only deepened her commitment to the program.
Rusthoven’s daily duties include working on the center鈥檚 newsletter, the annual report brochure, social media posts and event planning. Before聽her internship, she hadn鈥檛 thought about a career in galleries or community art centers, mostly because the focus of preparation in her classes was for more corporate outcomes.
鈥淚鈥檝e liked learning about nonprofit work and getting that experience when Campus Alamance does promote. It鈥檚 not saying that there鈥檚 only one way to be successful, but you can potentially work in the nonprofit sector and still be successful,鈥 she said.
Karen Carrouth, the outreach coordinator for Alamance Arts, worked closely with Rusthoven during both of her stints as an intern for the gallery. When Carrouth found out that Rusthoven wanted to return to Alamance Arts for a second year, she encouraged her to get more experience with another employer.
鈥淚 was very flattered and honored that Sarah chose to come back here,鈥 Carrouth said. 鈥 But I said to her, 鈥楢re you sure you don鈥檛 want to go try out something new, something you haven鈥檛 conquered before?鈥 But she was adamant and so I gave up. And I鈥檓 glad I gave up because she鈥檚 a great fit here.”
Carrouth said Alamance Arts has gained so much from the interns it works with, and the same is true of Rusthoven. Alamance Arts treats all of its interns as full members of the team. Applying what she learned last summer, Rusthoven jumped seamlessly into the flow of things at Alamance Arts.
“She stepped right in and remembered everything and that was very helpful. Sarah also grew with her creativity with social media. I think a year did make a difference,” Carrouth said.
Rusthoven said she’s been able to get a glimpse of what all goes into running a community arts organization. Collaborating with other organizations and dealing with artists and community members have left her with experiences that she wouldn鈥檛 have gotten without the internship.
鈥淚f I was doing a normal job on campus, I wouldn鈥檛 have been exposed to different things like that,鈥 Rusthoven said. 鈥淓very 黑料不打烊 student should have an experience like this by the time they graduate,鈥 Rusthoven said.