Intern Reflection: Kasey Malbas

Kasey Malbas started her internship with SDEA in September 2021 and recently wrapped up her time here with us as an Arts Management Intern. This is Kasey in her own words about her internship experience:

“It was unlike any other internship I’d heard of: There are so many horror stories floating around about how companies treat interns as robots or underpaid labour, but SDEA fit into none of those. SDEA took care of us interns so well. The culture here goes far beyond the culture of a typical internship. It's something I've grown fond of. With my internship ending, it didn’t feel like something was loss, instead I felt a sense of completion. Although we are no longer together physically or on Zoom, I know SDEA and the people there will stay with me, in my heart, for a long time. 

SDEA has taught me so much from life lessons to work culture. The most significant was the lesson on opening up. Although it’ll be a lifetime of work, SDEA gave me big insights and inspired so many ground-breaking revelations about humanity, passion, interconnectivity, and trust. 

There are so many things I will miss. I really liked the daily catch-up sessions introduced after work-from-home was the default. They were windows to really get to know one another from smallest details like what we had for lunch, or maybe what irked us that day. These seemingly insignificant interactions now bear new meaning for everyone since the pandemic took over our lives. I was able to know the people beyond their work and it brought so much humanity into the place. I appreciate these human connections and how they help build trust and affection.” 

Kasey and her peers were also the first batch to be given a special challenge by their mentors in the Secretariat: Create social media campaign for arts advocacy.

Check out their brainchild, Project Vocare — the interview series created from a simple idea to the three episodes that each showcase one young and upcoming arts educator. Working on the project saw the interns put the soft and hard skills they have acquired to use. More importantly, they proved that you're never too young to have a voice and make a difference.