暗网吃瓜

It was an instance of serendipity when a local family approached the in downtown Rochester last spring, hoping to arrange music therapy鈥攚ith a focus on drumming鈥攆or their son, who has autism spectrum disorder.

The request came just one day after Maria Battista-Hancock, director of Hochstein鈥檚 expressive arts department, had interviewed jazz drummer D鈥橨ean Vasciannie. He鈥檚 a student in the , and he had applied for a 鈥淗umanities for Life鈥� internship.

The new program, supported with a five-year grant from the , matches students interested in the arts and humanities with local nonprofit organizations. The paid, 30-hour-per-week internships help Rochester students explore how their skills can be engaged professionally, for the good of the community.

Sixty students applied for the program in its inaugural year, competing for 10 spots. Participating organizations鈥攖he , , Hochstein, ,听, , , and local public radio station 鈥攕elected from among the applicants and tailored internships to the students鈥� goals.

鈥淭hese organizations haven鈥檛 traditionally recruited at the University. It鈥檚 an opportunity to build a talent pipeline into the Rochester community,鈥� says Cathy Caiazza, director of career curriculum initiatives at the Gwen M. Greene Center for Career Education and Connections, which works with the University鈥檚 Humanities Center in administering the program. She expects the number of applicants to grow next year.

Vasciannie was a novice teacher, but an expert drummer. Working alongside a trained music therapist, he gave drum instruction to the student as one component of his internship. 鈥淗aving somebody with D鈥橨ean鈥檚 expertise helped the music therapist who now works with this student to have a firmer foundation in how to direct the student in drumming. It gave a depth of flavor to the therapy sessions,鈥� says Battista-Hancock.

Rochester-born Vasciannie, who himself took lessons at Hochstein for a time, has long thought of music in therapeutic terms. 鈥淚 started playing music as a way to heal, to address any problems going on in life. I wanted to bring that mindset,鈥� he says.

His work with the expressive arts program, which serves more than 1,300 people each year, also gave him hands-on arts administration experience through the development and continuation of organizational partnerships, working especially in collaborations with the Alzheimer鈥檚 Association and on 鈥淢usic for the Ages,鈥� a celebration of the arts for a local senior living community.

鈥淚 feel like one’s art, or study of the arts, should reach as many people as possible and be accessible鈥攂y doing so, you can find meaning in your craft,鈥� he says, citing the lessons of 鈥淭o the Next Generation of Artists,鈥� an essay by two of his jazz heroes, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. 鈥淭heir first point is, 鈥榓waken to your humanity,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淎nd what I took from that is, you鈥檙e not alone. We can鈥檛 create alone鈥攐ther things in life influence you and move you along. And a lot of that is rooted in compassion.鈥�

Battista-Hancock saw the convergence of Vasciannie鈥檚 compassion and know-how when she gave him a tour of the department鈥檚 facilities. She pointed out the department鈥檚 well-worn drum set and mused aloud about how much she鈥檇 like to have an electronic set whose volume could be calibrated for clients with auditory sensitivity.

Wheels began to turn in Vasciannie鈥檚 head. He called a person he鈥檇 met as an Eastman student, a contact at the musical instrument company Yamaha. Thanks to Vasciannie鈥檚 intervention, an electronic drum set is now on its way.

鈥淗e told them the story of our department and the individuals we work with, who process music and reality in a different way. He explained that a tool like this would be amazing for Hochstein. And now we鈥檙e waiting for it to be delivered,鈥� says Battista-Hancock.

That melding of the idealistic and the practical is at the foundation of the 鈥淗umanities for Life鈥� program. For Emily Tworek 鈥�20, an internship at Writers & Books, a Rochester literary arts center, was an opportunity to turn her love of literature into a form of community action. Tworek, from Edinboro, Pennsylvania, is majoring in English, theater, and business. She鈥檚 interested in artistic administration, and the internship gave her a chance to find out what a career in nonprofit organization leadership would be like.

鈥淭hey tailored my internship to me, always asking what I wanted to do,鈥� says Tworek. 鈥淚 wanted to see nonprofit work from the inside, in the hope of being an artistic director or executive director one day.鈥�

Kyle Semmel, who until recently led Writers & Books, put her to work with budgets, program initiatives, grant writing, and other tasks that fill the day of anyone who leads an arts organization. He says Tworek would be a natural in the job.

鈥淪he demonstrated early that we could trust her鈥攁nd we trusted her with quite a bit,鈥� he says. He ultimately offered Tworek and fellow intern Caitlin Davie 鈥�19鈥攁n English and psychology major from Syracuse, who spent the summer working in communications at Writers & Books鈥攑art-time staff positions at the end of their internships. Tworek worked as the center鈥檚 book-keeper until the end of the fiscal year, and Davie holds the post of membership coordinator.

鈥淎 major advantage of an intern program such as this is that we get to see firsthand the quality of the work these individuals are doing, and if we have needs that arise, we can act on opportunities,鈥� says Semmel. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e within our network鈥攚e know the work they do, we trust them, and it鈥檚 a small leap to say, 鈥榃e鈥檒l hire you.鈥欌��

All involved say that the fact that these are paid internships makes a critical difference, too. While science, technology, and finance internships are typically funded, most arts and community-focused organizations don鈥檛 have the resources to pay interns, says Caiazza鈥攁nd so humanities students often face a choice between earning money in the summer and taking a professional internship. The program is intended to help redress that dilemma.

Kamilah Robison 鈥�19, a psychology and art history major from Hartland, New York, plans to go on to graduate school in art history or museum studies. But most museum internships are unpaid, 鈥渆ven in cities with a cost of living three times that of Rochester,鈥� she says. 鈥淔or students interested in art history or museum work internships鈥攚hich are almost necessary for success in the field鈥攖hey become unattainable.鈥�

The Memorial Art Gallery selected Robison as its first-ever full-time summer intern. And while most museum internships involve only one department鈥攕uch as education, curation, or advancement鈥擱obison鈥檚 was structured to allow her to work in each of the museum鈥檚 departments, helping her to see the ways in which the departments interact and collaborate. 鈥淭his gives me an edge when I go on to any other museum,鈥� she says.

She attended meetings on curation and on strategic planning, worked on advancement efforts, and learned how to give educational tours. 鈥淚 was also able to do art historical research on some pieces and really flex my formal training in that way which was exciting. They taught me the ins and outs of interacting with museum members and gave me a behind-the-scenes look at art storage and restoration.鈥�

Funding and a custom-designed internship aren鈥檛 the only unusual components of the programs. So, too, is the emphasis on the interns as a cohort, connecting with each other to reflect on their experiences through both a half-credit course and regular Friday 鈥渞oad trips鈥� to all the internship-sponsoring organizations. The outings foster conversations about career opportunities for humanists and give the students a network of relationships with local nonprofit professionals.

For Davie, the visits were eye-opening. 鈥淭he circuit showed me what鈥檚 here in Rochester and confirmed for me that I鈥檇 love to work at a nonprofit. And it gave me more confidence about moving forward鈥攖o know that I can have a job with responsibility, where my actions have an impact.鈥�

Vasciannie says his internship heightened his sense of what鈥檚 possible in an administrative or musical career, and what it can take to achieve it. 鈥淭hings don鈥檛 happen right away,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t takes time, persistence, an open mind, and creativity when it comes to helping the organization you鈥檙e working for and the community you鈥檙e trying to serve.鈥�

Battista-Hancock, works with interns from around the country who are drawn to Hochstein鈥檚 community mission. But she says the 鈥淗umanities for Life鈥� experience is distinctive. 鈥淭he program takes a personal interest in developing the interns as artists and as community changers,鈥� she says.

And the focus is on the future, says Semmel.

鈥淚 think of it as a way of training the next generation of arts leaders.鈥�