At the Ballet (at Home)

By Rose O’Neill, FCLC 2021

Click here for Rose’s Met’s internship experience and the COVID-19

When I first started thinking about college internships, I never thought that I’d participate in one entirely remotely during a worldwide pandemic.  Last year, after we were all sent home and it became clear that my spring and summer plans would fall through, I applied to many positions, trying to complete at least one application a day.  I hated being stuck indoors and wanted to at least feel like I was making some type of progress in my life.  

Of course, most of the internships and jobs to which I submitted my résumé ended up postponing or canceling their hirings.  I accepted that, just like the plans I had had before the lockdown, my applications would not work out the way that I hoped.  I was surprised, therefore, when I received an email from the New York City Ballet membership department in December in response to an application I had filled out the previous March.  I interviewed the next week and started the internship a month later.

Working remotely has been a very different experience from going to an office every day.  Being at my parents’ house and then at my dorm, it’s taken a bit more intentional scheduling to make sure I’m prepared for meetings and assignments than if I were at the office.  I’ve gotten to know my co-workers exclusively through emails, phone calls, and video meetings.   I have now assisted with virtual events, a reality that I never considered pre-pandemic.  I was also able to attend webinars and sit in on meetings for different departments I was interested in, which probably would have been logistically more difficult to do if I were not remote.  Even though last year and this year could not happen the way that I wanted, I am grateful that I could