Internship Stories: Georgie Jones

One of the ways that Deakin students can gain industry insights and experience is through our Work Integrated Learning (WIL) programs. There are a range of internship opportunities advertised at any given time and students always come away with valuable knowledge and increased networks to draw upon throughout their study and after graduation.

Below, Bachelor of Education student, Georgie Jones shares her insights from a recent Children’s Literature Internship at the Warrnambool Art Gallery. As Georgie has shared here, undertaking an internship can lead to both expected and unexpected opportunities!

For five months starting in October 2018 I undertook an internship at the Warrnambool Art Gallery (WAG). This role was directly attached to the Paul Jennings: UNREAL! exhibition which celebrated the work of acclaimed children’s author Paul Jennings. My role was to work alongside the Gallery’s Education Officer to assist with the facilitation of the exhibition and associated events. This mainly included planning and delivering guided tours and workshops to school groups and the public.

There is no doubt that the professional experience and skills I have acquired as a result of the internship will support my future career in education. The team work, organisation, and communication skills I developed can be directly applied to classrooms. I enjoyed the internship experience at WAG so much I stayed on as a volunteer. This in turn led to me applying for and accepting a coveted casual position at WAG which would most likely have been unobtainable without the experience gained from the internship.

Most importantly, the internship opened up career avenues outside of becoming a primary school teacher that I hadn’t even considered when I commenced my degree. A career in an education support role for a community organisation such as a gallery, museum or historical site is a position I will now definitely consider and actively seek out as a result of this internship.

Thanks to Georgie for so generously sharing her insights here.

For students who are keen to find out more about internship opportunities in the Faculty of Arts and Education, you can contact the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) team – contact details available here. They are always happy to help!

 

*Featured Image (Cover) by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash