Experiences at Western Michigan University College of Arts & Sciences

The funniest thing that ever happened to me at Western Michigan University had to be an audition for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat my freshman year. I went to this school with the intention of becoming famous in musical theatre because I enjoyed it so much in high school. I should probably mention that I went to high school with a graduating class of about 83 seniors so theatre was a much different experience back home than it was at Western.

Still, I went into an audition confident I would blow them away with my vocal talent. Honestly? I think I did, but everything went south when I found out there was a dance audition right after the vocal audition. I though, "No sweat. I love to dance!" So I followed everyone in my auditioning group upstairs to the dance studio where everyone proceeded to change into spandex pants and leotards. There I was in sneakers and a pair of cargo pants.

It sounds embarrassing, but it wasn't nearly as bad as when I actually started to do some of the moves they were asking of me. I never knew my body would have to move that way! I was used to playing the male lead in our small productions back home so this was completely bizarre to me! Oh, the horror. Needless to say, I wasn't cast in this production and I decided to put my career in musical theatre on the backburner for a while. To this day I wonder if the music director who heard me sing ever asked the dance instructor what happened to me that night. Oh well, it at least makes a great story!...

The most challenging aspects of my job as a public relations intern was taking the initiative to complete tasks without any direction from a superior co-worker. Much of my time spent here was working alone and communicating my progress via email so there wasn't always an opportunity to ask questions. In the end, this was the most challening aspect of my experience, but it was also the most helpful because since this experience I have worked as a freelance graphic designer where often times my client is paying me to do something I'm not completely familiar with. Having already experienced many situations where you're left alone to "figure it out" as an intern has made me a successful freelance designer....