The University of Tulsa’s Kendall College of Arts and Sciences launched the D’Arcy Fellows Program in 2016 to provide its students valuable professional experience across a range of fields — nonprofits, arts organizations, policy think tanks and business corporations. An outstanding curriculum equips students with advanced critical thinking, communication and problem-solving skills that are highly sought after by employers. The D’Arcy Fellowship helps students put such skills to immediate use, enabling them to gain valuable real-world experience, expand networks and explore career options before they graduate.
Funded through a generous estate gift from alumna and long-time TU supporter, Patti D’Arcy (BFA ’49), the D’Arcy Fellowship is a paid internship program that is competitive and challenging with a selective process that matches students with employers to benefit both. Employers have bright, capable and motivated interns for eight to ten weeks in the summer (or a little longer during the academic year) to help with special or ongoing projects, while interns get a glimpse of the workplace and its demands, bridging the gap between student and professional life.
Meet our summer 2021 D’Arcy Fellows
Rosalind Hobbs
Rosalind Hobbs is a media studies major and French minor at The University of Tulsa from Owasso, Oklahoma. After eagerly pursuing her very first internship, she was offered the chance to work with Living Arts of Tulsa as a communications/PR summer intern through The D’Arcy Fellows Program at TU. This opportunity involved running social media, planning and executing events; creating visual content; designing art kits for Tulsa kids and communicating with guests, artists, and organizations from and outside of Tulsa. Living Arts of Tulsa provided the perfect environment for Rosalind to apply and practice all that she has been working towards in her studies: successfully and strategically communicating with audiences of varying characteristics. This internship proved to be an excellent chance for Rosalind to build connections with fellow Tulsa professionals to kickstart her own journey after college. She has a “deep gratitude for the opportunity that has been given to [her], and [she] can say with genuine honesty that [she] is finishing this internship as a more developed and experienced professional.” She looks forward to exploring the many doors The D’Arcy Fellows Program has opened for her.
“…Rosalind was able to work independently, take initiative and complete important projects which made a measurable difference in our success this summer. Any team would be lucky to have Rosalind on their team. We are so grateful for her work and proud of what she accomplished during her time at Living Arts of Tulsa.”
Heather Duncan
Executive Director
Living Arts of Tulsa
Cailie Golden
Cailie Golden is a graphic design major at TU. In addition to pursuing her degree, Cailie is an editor with Stylus Student Journal, a member of the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity in which she was elected fundraising chair, and recipient of the Kimberly Hanger Award for an essay on Shakespearean Literature. “Without Third Floor Design… [and] all the opportunities I’ve had at TU,” she explains. “I think my future as a designer would look very different.” Her time within the program really prepared her for graduation.
She credits her experience with the D’Arcy Fellowship’s summer internship program with preparing her for life after college: “Real deadlines and client interactions pushed me to learn and grow; now I have a stronger portfolio, featured work done for real organizations.” The program also connected Cailie with mentors that provided insight and encouragement. In her four years at TU, she has found not only a community but also the perfect place to prepare for, then pursue, her future in graphic design.
Katharine Nipp
Katharine Nipp is a senior from Stillwater, OK, pursuing a BA in organizational studies with minors in Spanish and media studies from TU. Over the summer, she had the opportunity to serve The Office of Alumni Engagement at The University of Tulsa for her D’Arcy internship. She planned for, created, proofread, and published content across digital marketing platforms, including email, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. She developed and edited Publisher documents, performed data entry, and grew their programs and initiatives by assisting with planning and executing alumni programming and events. One major fundraising event that Katharine worked on was the annual TU Uncorked event, which raises funds for scholarships for TU students. Overall, she gained new skills including learning new databases and programs, managing social media, and marketing strategies. She also enhanced her previously established skills in event planning, interpersonal communications, and editing and proofreading documents. She worked both in-person and remotely. Katharine explains her continuing work with the Office of Alumni Engagement: “This D’Arcy internship opportunity cultivated a great relationship between myself and the Office of Alumni Engagement as I have continued interning with them for the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 semesters.”
“She [Kat] tackled each assigned task with enthusiasm, diligence, and determination to produce a quality result. Further, she took initiative to seek new projects and share her insight for improvement on current projects. She consistently asked thoughtful questions, provided solutions, and worked proactively and efficiently. She communicated effectively to make sure each member of the team knew the status of her projects and schedule without being asked. Kat was a vital asset to our office and played a significant role in planning and execution of large-scale alumni events including TU Uncorked and TU Homecoming. We were so impressed and grateful for Kat’s work that we found a course credit opportunity for Kat to extend her internship into the fall semester.”
Leslie Blanchet
Director of Alumni Engagement
The University of Tulsa
Kami Jurenka
Kami Jurenka is a third-year student from Sacramento, California. She is currently studying art and computer simulation in gaming as her double majors with minors in art history and computer science. She interned with Public Radio Tulsa over the summer, virtually, and continued her work in-person with them into the Fall semester. Seeking this internship, she hoped to learn technical skills in a professional setting and understand more about non-profit companies.
During this internship, she not only worked on training coworkers for their website conversion but also utilized her graphic design skills in preparing the promotion and website materials for events, social media, and updated web pages. She experienced a professional work setting with the added challenges of virtual communication and a difference in time zones.
“She [Kami] was a 5-star intern who exceeded our expectations. She is a gem, a true professional, and has a bright future ahead of her. We’ve been so impressed with her work we have even offered her a part-time student job for the fall.”
Meghann Ray
Development Associate
Public Radio Tulsa
Caroline Cox
Caroline Cox is a junior studying studio art and art history from Stillwater, Oklahoma. Cox served her D’Arcy Internship as the facilitating arts intern at 108|Contemporary. She applied to 108 because she was interested in gallery management and art nonprofits.
During her time at 108, Caroline learned about gallery management and focused on educational content and community programming. With staff, she researched for the exhibition A Luthier’s Tale and created take-home craft kits as well as an interactive display for visitors. Through her internship, Caroline learned about visitor engagement and exhibition preparation and installation. She also helped make graphics for the gift shop and lead tours of the gallery to school groups. Caroline gained valuable experience and was able to connect with many people in the Tulsa arts scene.
“Caroline was an exceptional intern during this summer semester. She was very eager to learn and quick to help with any task… She took initiative on many of her projects to go above and beyond what was requested. I have complete faith that she will continue to gain experience and become a vital part of the art world. If a position were available at 108, we will be happy to see her as a permanent part of our team.”
Jen Boyd Martin
Exhibition Director
108|Contemporary
Sam Modde
Sam Modde is a current senior from St. Louis, Missouri pursuing a double major in film studies and media studies and a minor in Spanish. This past summer, he worked as a media and communications intern for the Tulsa City Council. With an interest in broadcast communications, Sam sought this internship as an opportunity to work with local government and learn more about how to effectively communicate with constituents and create a widespread, positive impact. His internship included a variety of tasks such as broadcasting live meetings over Facebook and local television, writing press releases, designing social media posts, and creating videos and infographics as needed.
“Working with the city council was a fantastic opportunity for me, as I got to apply some of the skills and tools, I’ve developed at TU to real-world experiences that I hadn’t even considered before,” Modde said of the internship. “I learned a lot about the processes of local government and how crucial strong communication skills are from my time with the city council, and I came away with a better appreciation for local government as well as a few connections with some pretty amazing people.”
“Sam was the perfect intern. He especially brought talents to the City Council that were sorely needed at the time. He took part in artfully crafting and posting social media messages for the City Council. In addition, he wowed the Council with his live broadcast production skills and the creation of animated graphics…. Sam was an excellent addition to the City Council’s operations. So much so that we are looking into employing him on a part‑time, on‑call basis, to fill in when staffing runs short.”
Patrick Boulden
Tulsa City Council Administrator
City of Tulsa
Piper Prolago
Piper Prolago graduated with a BA in art history and a BS in anthropology at TU. Her summer 2021 internship was with the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, where she assisted the OVAC team on programming, organization, and social media outreach. At first, Piper’s responsibilities revolved around creating and scheduling social media posts and maintaining OVAC’s calendar of upcoming Oklahoma arts events and information about how to engage with them. Throughout the summer, she took on additional projects including researching and presenting with the team at an Artist Survival Kit event called Equitable Arts Organizing, photographing, and cataloging works for the 12×12 exhibit, and communicating with state-wide galleries to compile a gallery guide for OVAC’s publication, Art Focus.
This experience was particularly meaningful for Piper because of how directly she could see the impact of OVAC’s events and programming on artists around the state: “I really admired how much OVAC emphasizes outreach to artists at all stages of their career from providing advice for how to make money as an artist to promoting mentorships and exhibition opportunities.” As an intern, Piper not only learned practical skills in programming, planning, and fundraising, but also the importance of continuously pushing to find innovative ways to meet the needs of Oklahoma’s arts community.
“Piper was an incredibly intelligent, thoughtful intern who approached every task with a quick understanding for why it mattered to OVAC as a whole. One of her most impressive projects was compiling research, example projects, and activities for a workshop on Equitable Arts Events, which she helped lead with confidence toward the end of the summer.”
Audrey Kominski
Programs & Events Manager
Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition
Sarah Berno
Sarah Berno is a media studies major with minors in sociology and gender studies. Their summer 2021 was done remotely with Bloedel Reserve in Bainbridge Island, Washington. During their internship, they worked closely with two members of the Communication and Development office. Throughout the summer, they learned how to use social media management platforms and track audience engagement while working to create a robust plan for how to translate audience engagement to visitors to annual membership.
During the internship, they strengthened their design and content creation skills and learned about the importance of audience engagement. Before the internship, most of their experience out of the classroom consisted of data collection. Their internship gave them the opportunity to work with a team and run multiple social media accounts.
Katie Rickman
Katie Rickman is a senior media studies major with a health sciences minor from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Her summer 2021 internship was with The University of Tulsa’s Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications. Her role as a marketing intern included interviewing students and faculty, copywriting, and social media content creation. Rickman composed stories regarding university research, teaching, and community-focused activities carried out by faculty and students across the University. Additionally, Rickman was able to gain experience in platforms such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Agorapulse, and WordPress. Rickman’s Summer internship led her to a new position as a social media intern for the University’s Admission office, where she develops content for the University’s Admission Instagram account.
While her internship was remote due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rickman appreciated the flexibility that working from home afforded. “Despite being remote, I was still able to connect with my superiors and establish connections that set me up for success as a marketing intern and now as a social media intern,” Rickman said. “My time as a D’Arcy intern helped solidify my plans to pursue a career in PR/social media and copywriting.”
Jiaxu Jin
Jiaxu (Karsh) Jin graduated with a BA in film studies with a minor in film scoring and a minor in art. She worked with World Stage Theatre Company for her D’Arcy internship where she performed many tasks that make a theatre run. She was crew for World Stage Theatre’s “Tulsa 21: Black Wall Street.” She worked on a special film series, worked on World State Theatre Company’s “Behind the Curtain with Tim Reid” event, and assisted in auditions for “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Doubt: A Parable.”
“World Stage Theatre Company couldn’t be more honored to have had Karsh as our summer intern. From the point of her interview to the very last task that she did for us she was the consummate professional and also willing to do more and with a smile!”
Kelli McLoud-Schingen
Director
World Stage Theatre
Aline Fouche
Aline Fouche graduated with a bachelor’s in political science and minors in both philosophy and anthropology. Her internship with The University of Tulsa’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion provided her the opportunity to take initiatives on many projects. While the internship was remote, Aline received glowing reviews for her participation in meetings and her crafting extensive reports for two large programs that were implemented this academic year.
“Aline’s initial interview was impressive, and we thought she would be an outstanding addition to our team; she exceeded those expectations… Aline left a positive impact on our team.”
Kelli McLoud-Schingen
Vice President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
The University of Tulsa