Notes from the Intern

Hello everyone! I’m Shelly, the new intern at the Cook Arts Center. I’m a senior at Calvin College and will be graduating this May with a double major in English and Studio Art. I’ve been interning here since the beginning of January, where I have been teaching the Drop-In-Art after school program. I’ll be continuing to do that until May, and I’m also going to be blogging once a week to tell you about my experiences here.

I really had no idea what to expect on my first day at the Arts Center. As I stood among the swarm of kids, it suddenly felt like it had been a really long time since I had worked with children. Questions like “What do you even say to someone less than half my age…?” flooded my mind. But, as the group of kids settled around with their paintbrushes poised for action, I realized it doesn’t matter what you say to a kid. What matters is that you want to be there - want to get to know them, want to spend time with them, want to teach them.

The more time I spend at the Cook Arts Center, the more I enjoy it. This past Wednesday, I had the opportunity to walk around and see the different classes that are available. I couldn’t help but wonder what class I would have chosen to attend when I was a little kid. Lucky for these children, they get the opportunity to try as many art classes as they want.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures from last week’s activities. Whether it’s the new style of holding a guitar, the group of boys enjoying the cartooning class, or Erika busy working on her pottery, I can’t help but smile.