Beyond the Classroom: Mary Pyrdol (CFA’23)
My Internships at Childhood Cancer Society and NASA Psyche Inspired
In CFA’s Beyond the Classroom Series, music, theatre, and visual arts students at BU share their work experiences. These Terriers express how the resources at BU prepared them for success beyond the classroom.
For BU graphic design student Mary Pyrdol (CFA’23), having artistic freedom was something she found most rewarding in her two design internships. Responsible for generating promotional graphics in both places, Mary found joy creating illustrations for the Childhood Cancer Society featuring the organization’s mascot, Adventure Ted, and seeing first-hand how it brought smiles to families. And at NASA Psyche Inspired, Mary was tasked with creating different projects exploring different mediums, each interpreting the mission — which consists of visiting an asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter — in different ways. Mary shares her internship experiences with CFA and how both internships have helped her discover what type of graphic design work she plans to pursue post-graduation.
What’s your role in the internship? What are your responsibilities?
My first internship was with the Childhood Cancer Society, from July 2021 through April 2022. Here, I was responsible for generating promotional graphics featuring the organization’s mascot, Adventure Ted. As the face of the organization, Adventure Ted travels across the country visiting children battling or having conquered childhood cancer, spreading joy by granting children and their families trips to Walt Disney World or Universal Studios. My position was to illustrate Ted into fun scenarios for his Instagram page, making it appear that he would post the pictures himself. Giving Ted his fun-loving personality was crucial to the organization because it made the kids’ interactions with Ted magical.
My second internship was with NASA Psyche Inspired, from August 2021 through May 2022. At Psyche Inspired, I created promotional graphics inspired by the Psyche Mission. Psyche is a metal-rich asteroid that NASA is conducting research on to better understand perhaps the cores and materials of planets. My position was to create four different projects each exploring different mediums and each interpreting the mission in different ways.
How did you find out about the internship?
For the Childhood Cancer Society, I found the position on an employment website. I applied to the internship by sending in my portfolio and my resume, as well as having completed a sample illustration of the mascot in my art style. My supervisor was impressed with my illustration and then offered me a position on the graphic design team!
For the Psyche Inspired internship, I was suggested to apply by my former boss from my local library, Patricia Monteith. Being a NASA Ambassador, Pat saw my expertise in graphic design and my passion for STEM, so she told me about the opportunity. When applying to the internship, I had to provide three pieces of artwork I was most proud of and explain why I was proud of them. I chose pieces I had made while studying in the BU Graphic Design program. The employers at Psyche Inspired were excited about my artistic lens, and offered me the opportunity!
Any notable accomplishments from the internship?
At the Childhood Cancer Society, one of my major accomplishments with them would have to have been my digital illustrations of Adventure Ted into existing pictures of families at Walt Disney World. I got to see footage of my work being shown to the families, and the smiles I brought to their faces made the hours of work completely worth my time.
One of my major accomplishments during my Psyche Inspired internship was my use of a foreign medium in my third project. I wanted to experiment with a medium completely unfamiliar to me, so I decided to dabble in jewelry making. I used recycled metal scraps to assemble metal brooches depicting the asteroid and the spacecraft that would orbit the asteroid. Initially, I was prepared for the brooches to come out looking wonky, but with the right technique and materials I gathered, I was able to produce a successful design I can borrow skills from in my future graphic design practices.
Did resources at CFA or BU help you prepare for the internship?
My studies in the BU Graphic Design program have prepared me for my artistic performance.
How does the coursework at CFA connect with your internship?
At CFA, the coursework I am assigned encourages experimentation with mediums and techniques when drafting designs. This includes going out of my comfort zone with certain projects. I believe that the skills I have obtained at CFA directly transferred into both of my internships. For example, I was able to confidently generate merchandise graphics for the Childhood Cancer Society without prior experience in merchandise design. At Psyche Inspired, I was able to use my skills from my CFA printmaking class to directly translate into my final project.
In what ways do you think the internship has prepared you for your work beyond BU?
Both of these internship opportunities have given me a glimpse of what kinds of graphic design work I may want to pursue in the future. I am very interested in being a concept developer, assisting people by offering my artistic abilities and perspectives.
What did you learn about yourself?
I think the most important thing I learned about myself through these internships was that I find joy in making art for the sake of art. The Psyche Inspired internship really drove this concept into me because all they told me to do was “be inspired” and “make art.” The Childhood Cancer Society also allowed for this kind of artistic freedom. I was allowed to illustrate Adventure Ted into all kinds of experiences and interactions using my own eye for design. This kind of artistic freedom is so important to me, and I hope that my future endeavors will allow me to continue this momentum.
Any advice for current CFA students beginning the internship process?
My only advice to students is to look for something you would enjoy doing. Don’t just apply to something because it will get you “experience points” in the field. Yes, that is important, but I think it is equally important to put your time and effort into something you would enjoy spending it on.
What’s next for you?
I am looking forward to perhaps picking up a part-time position doing more concept development. Post-graduation, I will definitely be looking into full-time job opportunities, maybe even at NASA with the right connections!
See more of Mary’s artwork through her art portfolio or via Instagram @_marys.canvas_.
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