CFA: How did you learn about this opportunity, and what steps did you take to secure it?

Megan: I learned about Innovate@BU through Brendan Hoey, Director of Undergraduate Student Services at CFA, who pointed me towards the entrepreneurship center during my freshman year. He saw I was itching to take action and be a part of something bigger. At Innovate@BU, I was unexpectedly roped into an info session about all of their programs and the speaker spoke to me directly and said I absolutely had to apply to their First-Year Innovation Fellowship. The rest is history. After my first year as a fellow, I was fortunate enough to be offered a job as an Innovate@BU ambassador, a new position. As an ambassador, I learned each of the programs inside and out and was able to advocate and inform other students of Innovate@BU’s opportunities. Applying and joining our Enlight Summer Fellows program was the next necessary step in my journey, and after a rigorous application process, I was accepted!

I first learned about the Pao Arts Center through an online calendar when looking at their featured event. After learning the center was for Asian American Artists in the Boston community, I immediately felt drawn to Pao and knew I needed to be a part of it. At a BU art fair, the center had a table where I was able to meet Pao’s staff and sign up as a volunteer for their yearly festival, Experience Chinatown. After volunteering, they couldn’t get rid of me! Every volunteer call I answered and supported events, from photography to event assistance. Eventually, I asked if they took on interns, and I knew I wanted to be a part of this community further. They explained they could only take on interns if the student could secure funding elsewhere. Hence why getting accepted into Enlight was so crucial to my opportunity of working at a local non-profit organization while also receiving funding for my internship work.

CFA: What are some of your most notable accomplishments from Innovate@BU and Pao Arts Center?

Megan: Through my fellowship and internship this summer, I’ve been able to develop my own social impact venture at Innovate@BU, give Chinatown tours to both students and locals wanting to learn our history, and meet countless cultural leaders dedicating their time to the arts in Boston. But my biggest accomplishment, I’d say, is the connections I’ve made through more than a dozen interviews with local artists. The Enlight Fellowship requires each fellow to do 20 customer interviews. I took this as an excuse to reach out to every single person I know. I’ve gone to museums with students I’ve met on the train, and thrifted with friends of friends. Experiencing the connection of the Boston art community firsthand has been nothing short of remarkable.

CFA: How did the coursework at CFA connect with this experience?

Megan: The coursework at CFA has impacted my internship experience in unthinkable ways. During my days at the Pao Arts Center, I am able to easily connect with our visiting and featured artists through our experience with all media. All while I’m able to apply the skills learned at CFA for graphic design and the installation of our exhibitions. In addition, our CFA curriculum has fostered my creative mindset that I am able to utilize at Innovate@BU, where I’m able to assist and offer an innovative and unique perspective on both my own and other cohort members’ start-ups.

CFA: In what ways do you think these opportunities have helped you prepare for your career beyond BU?

Megan: On my first day volunteering at the Pao Arts Center, I knew I had to work with people. Through this experience itself, I’ve learned one key thing about myself: I want to work with communities for the arts. Whether that’s community engagement, curation, or art administrative work. I thrive most when I’m in an environment of people with rich and unique experiences.

Through this internship, I hope to grow cross-university connections within the student art community around the greater Boston area. This will allow me to foster a community of artists around me, further increasing accessibility to resources and opportunities. This internship has left me with experience working with artists, contrast, gallery exhibitions, social impact frameworks, an entrepreneurial mindset, and countless new friends around Boston who share the same passion for art as I do.

CFA: What did you learn about yourself?

Megan: Living alone in Boston has pushed me out of my boundaries in more ways than one. In addition, my internship requires 20 interviews with possible “customers” throughout the summer. Through these two factors, I’ve learned something new but not shocking: I love talking with strangers. I’ve found myself walking up to art students on the train or speech pathologists from the park with the simple goal of connection. Innovate@BU continues to push my limits in every way, and although this is my second program with them, I continue to learn and drive to become the best version of myself.

CFA: Any advice for current CFA students beginning to look for internships?

Megan: Seek out opportunities! Opportunities seldom present themselves to you at exactly the right time and right place, so instead of waiting for them, make an active effort to seek them out. Send emails to artists you admire and ask to grab coffee, go to gallery openings by yourself, and speak to at least three strangers, or keep an open eye on online resources and newsletters. Even if you’re not looking for a job right now, in the future you may want to look into that organization or work under that artist! The possibilities are endless, but you have to be both intentional and consistent with your search!

CFA: Megan, what’s next for you?

Megan: I hope to take everything I’ve learned from this experience and apply it to this upcoming semester. By working with different universities and my own community, I will have the resources to pursue my goal of fostering community connections between artists around Boston. In addition, I hope to find future opportunities in arts administration and continue meeting artists around the Boston area!