An Interesting Semester: Updates from our Digital Engagement Interns

Our Spring 2020 interns, Bailey Carozollo and Laiken Wilson share their experience working as part of our digital engagement team. Want to be an intern at the museum? Learn more at eastman.org/internships.

I have always loved photography ever since I was little, so this internship was a great fit for me. Every day, I learned something new about George Eastman or photography. I was also taking a History of Photography course during the time of my internship and it was helpful to see many subjects I learned transfer over to the work I was doing. Because of this, I was more engaged to hear the historical side of the Museum. Although my time was cut short at the Museum site due to Coronavirus I was able to complete my internship online which I am very grateful for.

One of the main projects I worked on during my time at the museum was to capture images for Dutch Connection. The images were used in Instagram stories. This allowed me to show my more creative side and have a fun time taking photos. I also learned about all the different flowers when creating the Flower of the Day Instagram story posts.

Another project I took photos for was the Historic Process Workshops. I was able to see the interaction between staff and workshop attendees, and learn the process they were teaching along the way. I have learned many valuable lessons during my time at the Museum. It was awesome to see the relationships built between the attendees and workshop staff. Two of the attendees had completed previous workshops so the atmosphere was friendly and you could tell the staff had a great time as well.

The last project I worked on was to create Instagram trivia story posts about George Eastman. This was a really fun project to work on, I learned more information about George Eastman that isn’t common knowledge. Working on the trivia posts showed me how you need to be flexible as a professional and change ideas based on current events. Before working on the Trivia Instagram stories I was working on the Bike Tour Instagram stories which had to be altered due to the Coronavirus, and the new way of life we are adjusting to now.

My biggest takeaway from my experience with the George Eastman Museum is to take every day as they come and slow down when you have the chance because you never know when something will change. I am so thankful I was able to complete my internship online because I know many people that had to end their experience early. This experience reinforced my desire to work in social media and has helped further ignite my passion for photography.

Bailey Carozzolo, Nazareth College, 2020 Graduate

Throughout my college career, I was able to learn a great deal of valuable information on an array of subjects in the classroom. I was able to learn public relations tactics, marketing skills, intercultural communication proficiency, and more. As a senior, I wanted to take all of the knowledge I acquired and use it in a professional setting through an internship. I decided to apply to the George Eastman Museum because I have always been intrigued by local history and how it has impacted my community. I was also very interested in how a museum uses its social media platforms to communicate and market to its audience. When I was offered the social media intern position I was thrilled and eager to get started.

My first day as an intern was very exciting because as a part of our orientation we were given a tour of all the facilities and departments that make up the museum. One part of the tour that really caught my attention was the historic process workshops. I loved learning about how science and art is intertwined into the different historic photographic processes. Since I was so intrigued by this, for my semester-long project I decided to create a social media plan to market the workshops offered through a series of Instagram stories. Prior to working with the museum, I created a few social media plans, although, none of them were fully implemented. I was very excited to be able to learn, create, and carry out my plan completely on such an influential platform.

My plan was a series of Instagram stories called “Darkroom Magic” that would give a step-by-step tutorial of what is taught in three different workshops offered by the museum. By doing a tutorial style series, more individuals would see that anyone can enroll and participate in them. With this plan I wanted all visitors to become more aware of the workshops hosted by the GEM and understand that this is something they could do, especially the visitors in their 20s and 30s.

I also wanted visitors to gain more appreciation for the historic photography processes. Along with each of the story series, I uploaded an Instagram post to direct the audience to the stories. The three workshops I promoted were the salted paper printing, 35mm film, and gelatin emulsion dry-plate negatives processes.

Although my time working at the museum was cut short, I am grateful for all of the knowledge and guidance I acquired while I was there. Everyone welcomed me to the team and I was encouraged to voice my ideas and opinions. With each story series I created, I was given advice on how I could improve my skills for future projects. I am extremely thankful that I was given the opportunity to work at the George Eastman Museum because it made me realize that I want to go into the field of marketing, specifically on social media platforms. When going into the social media marketing field it is important to have several portfolio pieces. I am now able to show future employers projects that have been implemented and successful. Overall, I am grateful for the knowledge I am able to take away from this.

Laiken Wilson, St. John Fisher College, 2020 Graduate