This is the next in a series of posts by recipients of the Career Services Summer Funding Grant. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they’ve been spending their summer. You can read the entire series here.
This entry is by Devon Christeleit, COL ’18
This summer, I had the opportunity to work as a Development and Communications Intern with Taliesin Preservation (TPI) at Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio in Spring Green, Wisconsin. After spending the past two summers at Fallingwater, I was seeking an experience that would allow me to learn more about Wright’s design. This internship allowed me to do just that, while also exploring a new field in a new place.
Within 30 minutes on the first day of my internship, I was already engaged in meetings and discussions with my colleagues. A large portion of my duties was to assist with event planning and coordination, and one of the biggest events of the season was happening the weekend following: the Tour du Taliesin. This cycling event allowed for hundreds of people to experience the rolling hills that once inspired Frank Lloyd Wright to design his home in Wisconsin and other buildings around the world. My first week passed quickly as I organized event details, interacted with visitors, and toured the estate. The Tour du Taliesin event was a long day, but also one of the most rewarding work experiences I had all summer.
As the weeks progressed, I was assigned individual assignments. I first began by spending a lot of time on the estate, taking photos of the 5 Wright-designed buildings and the fields that are still utilized to grow food today. These photos were used for promotional materials and social media posts. I also worked to draft future posts that TPI will be able to use for the remainder of the year. I assisted on development mailings and projects, and met a lot of people full of passion for Taliesin and Frank Lloyd Wright.
One of my favorite projects was a proposal I created for a podcast. I’m hopeful that with the research I completed over the summer, that TPI will be able to implement a new podcast series that will generate more donations over time. I also spent a week working with High School students in Architecture camp, assisting the instructor with logistics and providing design feedback to the students. This was another rewarding aspect of the summer, when students presented designs and drawings that they were proud of to a panel of guests.
I met so many interesting people during the summer- from students enrolled at the Taliesin School of Architecture, to staff members and volunteers, to locals who like to fangirl over Frank Lloyd Wright just as much as I do. By the end of my 13 weeks, I had developed a second-home for myself in Spring Green, where I felt so full of life. I learned a lot about new career fields like development and event planning, and plan to continue to explore these paths into the future.
I’m so grateful that I was able to pursue this incredible opportunity, and hope that I have conveyed just how exceptional my experience was.
