Martha Clifford 
Senior 
Arts Administration major, English minor
Lake Bluff, Illinois

Where are you interning and what are your day-to-day responsibilities? 
I am interning at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s (ISO) Marketing and Communications department. I perform many tasks in my role. I plan, design, and schedule weekly marketing emails for upcoming performances. I have also created a social media plan for the Symphony on the Prairie concert series and I’m capturing photo and video footage during rehearsals and performances to be posted in real time and for future use. Additionally, I am editing scripts for performances, as well as editing and polishing program notes.

What do you like most about your internship?
I like the variety of tasks and projects I’ve been able to partake in. Being able to dip my toes into different aspects of marketing and communications has allowed me to better understand what I’m good at and what I like to do. I also have really enjoyed being able to take part in capturing photos and video for live performances, as well as developing content for social media platforms throughout the summer performances at Symphony on the Prairie. 

What has surprised you the most about your internship?
I was surprised by the magnitude of tasks and projects that fall under the duties of the marketing and communications department. The ISO is incredibly fortunate to have such a large and talented staff to accomplish these tasks, but this is definitely not often the case within not-for-profit arts organizations. I am grateful that I am able to see how a staff and organization of this size takes on and achieves these projects.

What advice would you give another student who may be looking for an internship?
I would encourage students to take their first steps in their internship search sooner rather than later, beginning with polishing your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile, as well as finding suitable samples of your work to begin creating a portfolio. Creating a Google Sheet to organize potential opportunities was helpful for me to stay organized and keep a clear picture of what’s ahead. Finally, taking the time to continually search across multiple platforms and organization websites is ultimately going to help you in finding opportunities that might not be posted elsewhere, which is ultimately how I found the ISO marketing and communications internship.