1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,390


2
00:00:02,390 --> 00:00:03,346
Hello, everyone.

3
00:00:03,346 --> 00:00:05,736
So I'm going to
try to [INAUDIBLE].

4
00:00:05,736 --> 00:00:09,860


5
00:00:09,860 --> 00:00:13,100
So the title of my
presentation today

6
00:00:13,100 --> 00:00:18,760
is "Finding My Forte
in the Music World."

7
00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:24,910
So my name is Samantha, and I'm
a senior here at Mount Holyoke.

8
00:00:24,910 --> 00:00:28,883
And I am environmental studies
and music double major.

9
00:00:28,883 --> 00:00:31,829
And I started looking for
internships last spring

10
00:00:31,829 --> 00:00:34,290
in the environmental
studies field.

11
00:00:34,290 --> 00:00:38,862
I am very involved on campus
with music [INAUDIBLE]

12
00:00:38,862 --> 00:00:41,292
groups such as
[INAUDIBLE] orchestra.

13
00:00:41,292 --> 00:00:43,236
And I play in chamber groups.

14
00:00:43,236 --> 00:00:46,638
And I teach flute lessons
to [INAUDIBLE] students

15
00:00:46,638 --> 00:00:48,096
[INAUDIBLE] studio.

16
00:00:48,096 --> 00:00:52,010
I developed my own
teaching methods.

17
00:00:52,010 --> 00:00:55,730
But my whole life I have been
doing orchestra and music,

18
00:00:55,730 --> 00:00:57,340
and taking lessons.

19
00:00:57,340 --> 00:00:59,090
So when I came to
Mount Holyoke I

20
00:00:59,090 --> 00:01:01,642
had the opportunity to
receive something new.

21
00:01:01,642 --> 00:01:03,100
And environmental
studies is really

22
00:01:03,100 --> 00:01:06,615
where my heart's at, about
equally as much as music.

23
00:01:06,615 --> 00:01:09,420
So I felt very [INAUDIBLE]

24
00:01:09,420 --> 00:01:11,990
So I started looking
for internships

25
00:01:11,990 --> 00:01:13,810
in their environmental
studies field.

26
00:01:13,810 --> 00:01:17,180
And I found about 15
of them, and applied.

27
00:01:17,180 --> 00:01:19,190
Didn't hear back
from any of them.

28
00:01:19,190 --> 00:01:21,010
And then I found
another internship

29
00:01:21,010 --> 00:01:23,440
which really resonated
at home with me,

30
00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:26,460
because it was at the Music
Center, in Northampton, Mass.,

31
00:01:26,460 --> 00:01:29,250
where I took flute lessons
for ten years growing up.

32
00:01:29,250 --> 00:01:31,331
And I'm very thankful to
them for all their work

33
00:01:31,331 --> 00:01:32,247
that they did with me.

34
00:01:32,247 --> 00:01:34,288
Because I don't think I
would be at Mount Holyoke

35
00:01:34,288 --> 00:01:38,040
if it wasn't for all that they
did, and places they sent me.

36
00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:42,662
So I applied, and became their
summer program assistant.

37
00:01:42,662 --> 00:01:44,120
And of course, the
music director--

38
00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:46,852
he recognized my name
immediately, and called me

39
00:01:46,852 --> 00:01:49,212
[INAUDIBLE] hey,
let's talk about it.

40
00:01:49,212 --> 00:01:51,780
And he was like, of course,
I would love to have you.

41
00:01:51,780 --> 00:01:55,460
So I [INAUDIBLE] assistant.

42
00:01:55,460 --> 00:01:58,208
And these are just some
pictures of the camps out

43
00:01:58,208 --> 00:02:01,452
of the newspaper this summer.

44
00:02:01,452 --> 00:02:04,446
[INAUDIBLE] they always
have budget cuts,

45
00:02:04,446 --> 00:02:08,438
so we were talking [INAUDIBLE]
about funding [INAUDIBLE]

46
00:02:08,438 --> 00:02:11,432


47
00:02:11,432 --> 00:02:15,026
So just to talk a little bit
about the work that I did over

48
00:02:15,026 --> 00:02:18,040
the summer-- so I
cut a lot of bagels

49
00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:19,483
for the camp's [? students. ?]

50
00:02:19,483 --> 00:02:20,750
[LAUGHTER]

51
00:02:20,750 --> 00:02:24,045
It's the classic thing that
people [INAUDIBLE] interns

52
00:02:24,045 --> 00:02:27,003
do is very small
administrative tasks.

53
00:02:27,003 --> 00:02:28,975
But they [? meet a ?]
[INAUDIBLE].

54
00:02:28,975 --> 00:02:31,440
So I cut the bagels
for the camps.

55
00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:32,850
[INAUDIBLE] Jamie Kent.

56
00:02:32,850 --> 00:02:36,200
Jamie Kent is a rising
star in country music.

57
00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:38,520
And he released an album
just this past week.

58
00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:41,370
And he came to do a benefits
concert for the organization.

59
00:02:41,370 --> 00:02:45,960
Of course, NCMC is non-profit
organization for the arts.

60
00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:49,940
So they rely very much
on [INAUDIBLE] community

61
00:02:49,940 --> 00:02:51,796
to fund them.

62
00:02:51,796 --> 00:02:54,955
So their mission is to make
sure that any family, or child

63
00:02:54,955 --> 00:02:58,599
or person, for that matter, who
wants to learn music and take

64
00:02:58,599 --> 00:03:00,640
lessons, has the opportunity
to do it, regardless

65
00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:03,580
of socioeconomic circumstances.

66
00:03:03,580 --> 00:03:07,030
And they must have had
200 kids when I first

67
00:03:07,030 --> 00:03:09,670
started at the
Music Center, which

68
00:03:09,670 --> 00:03:12,080
was, now, I think 13 years ago.

69
00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:16,400
And now they have, I think,
800 students [INAUDIBLE]

70
00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:19,930
So they've quadrupled in
size, which is amazing.

71
00:03:19,930 --> 00:03:21,390
So we do community outreach.

72
00:03:21,390 --> 00:03:24,595
So I spent a lot of time
writing donor thank you letters,

73
00:03:24,595 --> 00:03:27,160
and learning the art
of speaking with people

74
00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:31,930
who will really support
[INAUDIBLE] Music Center.

75
00:03:31,930 --> 00:03:35,365
And I drove around and delivered
catalogues, course catalogues

76
00:03:35,365 --> 00:03:36,760
to local libraries.

77
00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:39,330
I talked with parents,
and community members that

78
00:03:39,330 --> 00:03:43,300
came just to see
concerts, who had never

79
00:03:43,300 --> 00:03:45,150
even heard of it before.

80
00:03:45,150 --> 00:03:49,614
Which was rarely, but when
I did meet these people,

81
00:03:49,614 --> 00:03:52,094
I had the opportunity to talk
about my personal experience,

82
00:03:52,094 --> 00:03:54,078
and how much good
the [INAUDIBLE]

83
00:03:54,078 --> 00:03:57,871
and how involved they
are in [INAUDIBLE].

84
00:03:57,871 --> 00:03:59,620
And I also-- one of
the other great things

85
00:03:59,620 --> 00:04:01,930
that I got to do-- they
have a program that

86
00:04:01,930 --> 00:04:03,470
outreaches to nursing homes.

87
00:04:03,470 --> 00:04:07,805
And we try to bring music to
nursing home communities, where

88
00:04:07,805 --> 00:04:11,130
these elder [INAUDIBLE] people
don't have the opportunity

89
00:04:11,130 --> 00:04:16,370
to leave the building ever,
because of health restrictions.

90
00:04:16,370 --> 00:04:20,205
So it's really important for
them, and really beneficial

91
00:04:20,205 --> 00:04:22,690
to have music come
into the nursing homes,

92
00:04:22,690 --> 00:04:24,926
and they get to
experience a little bit

93
00:04:24,926 --> 00:04:26,159
of the outside world.

94
00:04:26,159 --> 00:04:27,908
Like normally, they
don't even have family

95
00:04:27,908 --> 00:04:29,151
that comes and visits them.

96
00:04:29,151 --> 00:04:31,966
So that was a really
humbling experience for me,

97
00:04:31,966 --> 00:04:35,115
to come in and find these people
appreciating music so much.

98
00:04:35,115 --> 00:04:36,606
Also, Musical Jeopardy.

99
00:04:36,606 --> 00:04:37,897
I got to plan my own day.

100
00:04:37,897 --> 00:04:39,480
And that was the
teaching aspect of it

101
00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:42,530
that I really found very useful.

102
00:04:42,530 --> 00:04:45,390
So I got to plan my own
Musical Jeopardy day

103
00:04:45,390 --> 00:04:47,140
with one of the chamber camps.

104
00:04:47,140 --> 00:04:48,640
And I got to run my own class.

105
00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:50,760
I had to come up with
a bunch of questions

106
00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:53,630
that ranged for students
who didn't know anything

107
00:04:53,630 --> 00:04:54,925
about music history, or theory.

108
00:04:54,925 --> 00:04:56,440
There's a huge range.

109
00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:58,320
So I had to come
up with questions

110
00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:00,435
for the seasoned musician,
who has taken theory

111
00:05:00,435 --> 00:05:03,450
in high school, to the person
who, like me at the time,

112
00:05:03,450 --> 00:05:08,520
didn't know anything about
composers and [INAUDIBLE]

113
00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:11,010
So there's a bunch of pictures
of dogs on the screen,

114
00:05:11,010 --> 00:05:14,170
because I did a lot of house
sitting for the summer.

115
00:05:14,170 --> 00:05:16,789
And I just want to talk a
little bit about my reflection

116
00:05:16,789 --> 00:05:18,540
on the whole experience.

117
00:05:18,540 --> 00:05:21,203
So while I was doing all
this administrative work,

118
00:05:21,203 --> 00:05:26,033
and working with the camps,
I had a lot of down time.

119
00:05:26,033 --> 00:05:28,448
When it was like
after my internship,

120
00:05:28,448 --> 00:05:29,897
or sitting at my
desk, when there

121
00:05:29,897 --> 00:05:31,850
were no camps in the building.

122
00:05:31,850 --> 00:05:34,274
And I found that I
had a lot of time

123
00:05:34,274 --> 00:05:35,760
to think about
[INAUDIBLE] music,

124
00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:37,630
was the direction
I wanted to go in.

125
00:05:37,630 --> 00:05:40,230
And how much I wanted to
include it [INAUDIBLE] my life.

126
00:05:40,230 --> 00:05:42,188
Because a lot of us were
liberal arts students,

127
00:05:42,188 --> 00:05:44,360
which means we have
multiple interests.

128
00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,065
That's why we're
here, most of us.

129
00:05:47,065 --> 00:05:49,420
But we all are really
very well-rounded.

130
00:05:49,420 --> 00:05:53,320
And so I found that
as much as I love

131
00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:57,780
working in the music building,
and my director, and just

132
00:05:57,780 --> 00:05:59,340
teaching and
everything, I realized

133
00:05:59,340 --> 00:06:02,026
that I like working one
on one with students

134
00:06:02,026 --> 00:06:03,794
who are very motivated.

135
00:06:03,794 --> 00:06:06,228
I like having the opportunity
to build that connection

136
00:06:06,228 --> 00:06:06,965
with them.

137
00:06:06,965 --> 00:06:09,920
But I don't think I want to
take it further than that.

138
00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:12,380
So then I started using
the rest of my spare time

139
00:06:12,380 --> 00:06:16,180
to look into environmental
programs more.

140
00:06:16,180 --> 00:06:19,390
And I did hear back after I was
accepted to this internship,

141
00:06:19,390 --> 00:06:22,090
from a lot of those
environmental organizations.

142
00:06:22,090 --> 00:06:24,160
But for the job
security of having

143
00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:27,240
an internship over the summer,
I was able to work with them.

144
00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:29,222
But now that I'm
a senior, and I'm

145
00:06:29,222 --> 00:06:34,182
looking more into finding a
job by the end of this year.

146
00:06:34,182 --> 00:06:37,007
I'm really grateful
for the time that I

147
00:06:37,007 --> 00:06:39,801
had to reflect on how much
I want music in my life.

148
00:06:39,801 --> 00:06:42,266
And all the time that
I had to research

149
00:06:42,266 --> 00:06:48,182
all these environmental
[INAUDIBLE] who are [INAUDIBLE]

150
00:06:48,182 --> 00:06:54,098
So as far as future
plans go, like I said,

151
00:06:54,098 --> 00:07:00,507
I'm [INAUDIBLE] I don't think
music is entirely my focus.

152
00:07:00,507 --> 00:07:02,479
But I found
[? had to be ?] in my life.

153
00:07:02,479 --> 00:07:04,944
And I think whether
or not you end up

154
00:07:04,944 --> 00:07:10,174
in a internship that is
like your dream internship,

155
00:07:10,174 --> 00:07:11,840
or one that [? you found ?]
interesting,

156
00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:13,940
I think that if you have
a choice, [INAUDIBLE]

157
00:07:13,940 --> 00:07:19,640
the opportunity to reflect
[INAUDIBLE] what you want.

158
00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:23,840
So any experience you
have is [? useful. ?]

159
00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:28,640
And I just wanted to say
thanks to [INAUDIBLE]

160
00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:30,740
for [INAUDIBLE] for us.

161
00:07:30,740 --> 00:07:33,740
And I want to say thanks to
the [? CMC. ?] And of course,

162
00:07:33,740 --> 00:07:36,365
[INAUDIBLE] Music
Center, [? because ?]

163
00:07:36,365 --> 00:07:38,240
[? I don't ?]
[? think I would ?] [INAUDIBLE]

164
00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,840
[? happened ?] about
them helping me grow with

165
00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:46,340
a extra-curricular activity
that was so [? motivating ?]

166
00:07:46,340 --> 00:07:48,649
and so [? much ?] [INAUDIBLE]

167
00:07:48,649 --> 00:07:49,940
So [? thanks for ?] [INAUDIBLE]

168
00:07:49,940 --> 00:07:51,713
[APPLAUSE]

169
00:07:51,713 --> 00:07:52,213