By: Sophia Holt-Wilson, Eiteljorg Marketing and Communications Intern

As my internship with the Eiteljorg comes to a close, I am reflecting on all that I have learned and accomplished during this whirlwind of a semester. As a junior in the Media School at Indiana University seeking a career in marketing for nonprofits, I was ecstatic that my first marketing internship was at the Eiteljorg. Not only did I have the opportunity to learn how a nonprofit museum is run, I also collected a diverse range of real-world marketing skills and experience.

Since I wasn’t able to return to the Eiteljorg for a photo, I improvised with one of the museum’s lovely Zoom backgrounds (as seen in many of my meetings!)

For the first half of my internship, I met with staff in different departments to get a sense of how the organization operates, created content for the social media channels, and helped develop a marketing plan for Quilts: Uncovering Women’s Stories. I even worked the Eiteljorg’s booth at the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show at home in Bloomington, where I was able to have conversations with members of the quilting community and invite them to the exhibition. Though Covid-19 eventually altered the course of my internship, every day I spent in the office during the first couple of months was filled with new, exciting experiences and opportunities to learn.

I couldn’t have imagined that my last day in the office before spring break would be my last day in the museum as an intern. It seemed like the cancellation of events in March and the closure of the museum happened in the blink of an eye. However, I was presented with an unexpected positive during this uncertain time in my internship and for the museum as a whole. Since the Eiteljorg’s presence and connection to visitors became completely digital almost overnight, I had a great opportunity to help create brand new, innovative content for “Eiteljorg at Home” along with the newly assembled digital task force in order to help people connect to the museum while it is closed. For example, I got to work with my equine friend Juniper to help her make social media posts in the museum while she has free “rein” of the building. I also wrote multiple Insider articles that gave insight into staff members’ experience working from home. 

Though this was not how I envisioned my first internship, I am grateful for the unique experience I received from the Eiteljorg both before and after the start of the pandemic. I can certainly say that the learning experience I had while interning with the Eiteljorg was one-of-a-kind, and it will be extremely valuable to me in my career going forward. I am thankful to the marketing team for this opportunity, and I cannot wait to visit the Eiteljorg as a guest once it is open to the public again.