I often tell people that I am indecisive not because I don’t enjoy doing anything, but rather that I am indecisive because I enjoy doing everything. This made determining my post undergraduate plans difficult to navigate. But after learning about the Master of Arts-Business: Arts and Creative Enterprise Leadership Program, the decision seemed clear.
The Bolz Center has given me the opportunity to deepen my understanding of topics that are crucial to arts administration in the context of my own personal interests and projects. This year I am completing my Applied Learning Placement at the UW Community Arts Collaboratory as a Development Associate, serving as a non-voting board member for the Wisconsin Coalition on Student Debt, and working on a consulting project with Allen Centennial Garden. I am also serving as the Director of the Wisconsin Union Directorate – Art Committee; working as a Gallery Assistant at Overture Center for the Arts; and starting my contract as a screenwriter.
The beauty of the MA-ACE Leadership Program is how all aspects of the courses and programming bleed into the work I do. I find myself using ideas from my consulting course with my work at the Overture Center, and bringing topics from my work with the Union into the discussion at our weekly Arts Administration Seminar class. And though I am only two months into the program, I have had some of the most meaningful and thought provoking conversations with my professors and classmates. I am consistently grateful to hear an idea mentioned in class or through our readings from the perspective of dancers, actors, directors, and other arts professionals.
I’m confident the holistic approach to arts administration and leadership that the Bolz Center curates will help me achieve my aspirations of teaching in higher education, performing professionally, and programming events in my local community. I’ve only been in the program for a brief time and I’m eager to see where this year continues to lead me.
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