Internships and apprenticeships, when done right, give interns and apprentices life long lessons. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, these opportunities aren’t accessible to many and so we wanted to invite folks who have had these experiences to share some of the lessons they’ve learned.

MacKenzie Westra

When I went to college I was heavily influenced by clay & all of the ceramics programming at Kendall College of Art & Design. I dove right into the Clay program, working as “Work Study” in the ceramics studio, it opened up a lot of opportunities for me very quickly. A few months in we were going out to Saugatuck, MI to fire a wood kilns with a group of 25 or so people who also had this large passion for pottery. Whats so great about wood firing pottery is it takes a team, and once you pull out the pieces from the firing process. Read more>>

Korey Harris

Any time that someone asks me about what it takes to improve at a certain craft or how to improve their ability to lead, I am always a little hesitant because the answer is not something that they want to hear. The truth is that the way to being lifted up is actually to start off being broken down and working in silence in the dark. I learned that the key to permanent and consistent growth, whether in business, basketball coaching, or life, is to first serve what belongs to another man before you try to build your own. Read more>>

Meghan Henshaw

In my early twenties, I traveled to rural Norway to volunteer on a small organic farm. My traveling partner and I took a train to Oslo then other trains as far north as we could. At the last train stop, we hitch-hiked across the highest mountain pass in western Europe and got dropped off at this tiny subsistence farm that was right next to the aquamarine waters of the fjord. While I was there, I learned so many practical skills like how to stack and cure firewood, card and spin wool, take care of meat rabbits and chickens, and harvest hay for the horses with just a scythe. Read more>>

Yiqing Xiang

It was an experience of cultural reflexivity during my music therapy internship. Cultural reflexivity is a process in which an individual understands, accepts, and adapts to cultural differences. As an international student, I experienced many cultural differences in my study, living, and work. This story mainly describes my strongest culture shock interning in a mental health behavioral hospital inpatient unit. Read more>>

Mandy Wolak

Well thinking back it would’ve been 2002 I was apprenticing to Tattøø in my hometown Milwaukee Wisconsin. Most likely I was tattooing myself at the time. This practice was the most common for beginner artist/apprentices in the event the Tattøø didn’t turn out so great you only had yourself to blame and you can cover it up when you’ve improved. My boss/mentor was tattooing a buddy of his when the cops came in through hand cuffs on him in the middle of this Tattøø session and hauled him off to jail. Lesson learned here…pay your child support! LOL Read more>>