Vocational Bliss: My Summer Internship at Writers & Books
I fell in love with Writers & Books the moment I stepped foot onto 740 University Avenue. Located in the heart of Rochester’s Neighborhood of the Arts, the building is beautifully crafted and exceedingly charming. A former turn-of-the-century police station designed by Rochester architect Claude Bragdon, the W&B building is a three-story brick masterpiece complete with quirky embellishments that reflect its current function. Two short pillars stand on either side of the entryway, each topped with a sculpted book. Wooden panels reading “Writers & Books Literary Center” in green letters frame the front door.
To the right of the building are a giant yellow pencil and a red phone booth where the top panel spells out “poetry.” Inside, the building is warm and inviting with dark wood and two grand fireplaces. Downstairs is home to the front desk, a quaint and cozy bookstore, a classroom, and the light and airy atrium. Up one floor are more classrooms and a pleasantly intimate performance space.
I was enchanted to say the least. But little did I know that Writers & Books was where I would be spending the better part of my summer as an intern. It was only September and I was there to see the University’s theater troop, The Opposite of People, perform The Importance of Being Ernest for the Rochester Fringe Festival. After that night, I didn’t think much about W&B as school picked up and I settled into my routine.
But when the spring semester rolled around, I applied to be an Urban Fellow—a program through the Rochester Center for Community Leadership that includes weekly urban issues seminars, field trips around the city, and a four-days-a-week internship at a local nonprofit. I was accepted, and before long, I received an email letting me know I had been placed at Writers & Books for the ten-week program. I could not have been more thrilled.
Over the next month I began to research my future place of work. I read about the organization’s history on their website, sifted through their class and event offerings, and did some considerable Instagram stalking. I learned that W&B is one of the oldest and largest literary centers in the country, dedicated for 35 years to promoting reading and writing as lifelong activities for people of all ages and backgrounds.
They offer a huge variety of classes, workshops, and events year-round to achieve these aims, serving over 25,000 individuals annually within and beyond the greater Rochester area. The more I learned, the more my excitement grew and when it was finally time for my first day, I discovered there was even a cherry on top: an incredibly welcoming, fun-loving, and all-around extraordinary staff.
I spent the next two and a half months working primarily in the development office with my supervisor Tate. In addition to the more mundane tasks of working on mailings, figuring out the file system, and constantly fighting with the printer, I spent much of my time working on interesting and enjoyable projects. I aided in kick starting W&B’s Writing the Next Chapter campaign to commemorate their 35th anniversary and the upcoming retirement of their wondrous founding director Joe Flaherty. This involved attending weekly campaign committee meetings, gathering information about prospective donors, helping with a brochure, and creating a postcard announcement. I helped to plan a literary salon honoring the history of W&B by organizing the guest list, food, and entertainment as well as designing invitations and promotional materials to distribute to guests.
I was involved with a variety of collaborative efforts with other organizations; I designed a flyer for an upcoming event at the Rochester Contemporary Art Center, and I planned two events with the Rochester Brainery: a blogging series and story slam for ROC Transit Day and a Neighborhood of the Arts scavenger hunt (I even got to write the clues!). Finally, I had the pleasure of assisting with SummerWrite, W&B’s summer youth day-camps. I organized tee-shirt orders, advertised for program scholarships, supervised students during lunch, and helped prepare for Harry Potter week.
Yes, Harry Potter Week. A full day, week-long camp dedicated to the incredible work of J.K. Rowling that also just so happened to coincide with my last week as a W&B intern. As one might imagine, it was truly magical. Students were sorted into houses, played Quidditch, wrote for the Daily Prophet, and took classes in everything from Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures to Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration. On the final day of the camp (July 31, of course), they ended the week with a birthday celebration for Harry that was followed by another party for the 21+ crowd that evening.
But as enjoyable as it was watching the kids exclaim “yes!” from beneath the Sorting Hat when Dumbledore announced their house placement, my favorite part of the camp was the preparation. For me, nothing could have been more delightful than making house point jars, crafting Diagon Alley signs, researching activities for Friday’s party, and spending an entire Sunday transforming W&B into Hogwarts. It was an absolutely perfect way to end my internship.
I feel incredibly fortunate to have spent my summer as a part of the W&B team. I not only gained a wide variety of new skills and a much better understanding of non-profit operations, but also discovered how my existing skills (such as being InDesign proficient) can be extremely useful in the real world. What’s more, for the first time, I got to feel what it’s like to be part of a cohesive staff that enjoys their work and truly cares about what they do.
My time with them was immensely fulfilling and saying goodbye on my last day was harder than I could have imagined. However, if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that my farewell was in no way a final one. Like so many members of the W&B community, I have grown far too attached for that just yet. On the contrary, as I contemplate ways to combat my separation anxiety, I’m finding comfort in the fact that I have two more years (at least) to fill with visiting, program enjoying, and reminiscing about my spectacular summer at Writers & Books.