On the doorstep of celebrating its centennial year in 2021, the Oak Park Art League (OPAL) has re-established its intern program for young adults. Jessica Figueroa is in her final year of studies at Concordia University Chicago in River Forest. She will graduate in May of 2021, with a B.A. in Graphic Arts. Many young adults will tell you that practical knowledge and experience required to succeed in today’s service based economy amid a pandemic can be hard to come by. OPAL was able to offer Jessica an internship that would help her to gain those practical skills and additional knowledge so that she could be better prepared to enter the workforce upon graduation.
Jessica was accepted as a graphic design intern at OPAL in late August of 2020. While many of her responsibilities were directly related to her degree, there have been just as many that are directly related to business ownership and management. Aside from designing OPAL branded program content, she has worked in customer service, member communications, gallery installation, archive management, video content creation and catalog documentation. “I have always wanted to own my own business and open an art gallery of my own,” says Jessica. “I have really been able to test those waters during this internship and experience a bit of what it takes to run a small business. I have had the opportunity to work outside of my comfort zone and build the confidence to try something new and challenging.” OPAL’s intern program works to create hands-on learning opportunities for young adults to gain valuable experience in a non-profit visual arts organization to make them stronger job candidates upon graduation.
For more information about membership, internships volunteering or to make a donation to the Oak Park Art League please contact Executive Director, Jill Kramer Goldstein at 708-386-9853 or director@oakparkartleague.org.
