Final Thoughts
This summer I got to be involved in community culture through the arts by partnering with the Main Street Arts Council. I worked as a marketer, costume designer, makeup artist, set designer, and back stage manager. Ogallala Commons has not only allowed me to work hard for Main Street Art Council but its it’s also got me to set aside goals, and over all having a better understanding of small communities.
The three goals I worked towards this summer was, organization, energy, and networking. All three of these goals are something I have always struggled with but this internship has flipped a switch for me.
My organizational skills have uped increasingly. I have finally learned how to use my phone for proper organization so that I can keep up with daily tasks. Every three days I would set asid thirty minutes to write in my calendar what needed to be done in the next three days and I wrote a lot of notes in my phone as well. It really helped me stay on top of things including hours. I also worked on energy. I tend to get sick a lot if I don’t get enough sleep. So I had to work really hard to find the right balance. Making sure I got good healthy foods in me and a full night’s rest. Lastly I got to work on networking, I realized by the end of the summer how active I have been in the community I worked in. The whole town knew me by the end of it all. Not just through working in the theater but through my volunteer work as well. Now I have all these people behind me who support me.
Ogallala Commons has been a great opportunity to think about myself and my goals but also to be open minded to think about the community I’m living in. I have figured out all small towns want to thrive and work together. Growing up in Atwood and then moving to a small town an hour away, Hoxie, has been amazing. I have been able to see how similar small towns are and how different these towns are. Going from one small town to another small town not very far from my home town, there can already be a perceived notion of what it’s going to be like living there but I have learned that there needs to be open mindedness to really understand the people and culture. Everywhere has different people and cultures but we are all in the same boat. After almost 20 years of living In north west kansas I have finally came to that conclusion.
I have loved my experience in Hoxie, the people I have met are so supportive and happy that you are there. Everyone moves and works hard. OC really has allowed me to evaluate that and connect to a town I never thought in a million year I would connect to. I feel very fortunate to be apart of this internship and the Hoxie community.
