I Believe I am Making a Difference

Hi everyone, from the Big Apple! I'm writing this from my teeeny tiny apartment in Manhattan, where I am living and working for this term. I want to give everyone an update about what I've been up to on my off-term - an opportunity I am lucky to have had thanks to the D plan.


This term I am working as an administrative/programming intern and teaching artist for a New York non-profit called Art Start. Art Start runs art and music programs in several homeless shelters in Manhattan and the Bronx, giving a creative outlet to New York's most at risk kids. Working here has been one of the most powerful experiences of my life - I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity. Every morning, I work in the Art Start office, helping my boss, Johanna, the executive director, catch up on expense reports (I'm getting really good at excel spreadsheets!) or doing research and helping to write grants. Because Art Start is so small, I've been given a lot of responsibility on the administrative side of things. Its a ton of work - running a nonprofit is NOT easy - but such good experience, and I've begun to feel really invested in the organization, and believe that I'm really making a difference.


My favorite part of the day though is teaching workshops! I help teach two visual arts workshops on Mondays and Wednesdays, and music on Tuesday and Thursdays at two different shelters. I have fallen in love with the kids, and in love with teaching. It's hard work - the kids can be realllly rowdy, and they vary from age 5 to 12, so keeping everyone quiet and focused can be extremely challenging. But there are moments where everything comes together - we write an awesome song together, or create a mural that everyone is proud of, and that's what I live for! These kids come from extremely tough backgrounds and upbringings, and many of them have 6, 7, or 8 brothers and sisters, all living in the shelter. Art Start gives them the chance to express themselves, receive 1-on-1 attention from a stable adult who cares, and makes them feel special and appreciated. Although most of these children will not grow up to be artists or musicians, I hope that the time we spend with them and the bigger lessons they learn about confidence and respect will allow them to grow into proud adults who can break the cycle of poverty, gangs and violence they were born into.


I'm so thankful that Dartmouth has given me the chance to experience something so different from the small town in California where I grew up. I'm also lucky enough to have teammate Kendall here, and its fun to enjoy city living with her. Although we miss the rest of the team, who are having adventures of their own, scattered around the world from Hanover to Barcelona to Bangkok to Bolivia. I work from 9 to 9 every day, and I spend a ton of time riding the subway and hustling around the city! Its true what they say about New York - this city really doesn't ever sleep. But I think this is the experience of a lifetime, and I can always sleep when I get back to Hanover!

Lots of love from NY
Annie "Mama" Villanueva '12, Santa Barbara, CA
Annie's Art Start bio: http://art-start.org/the-family/teaching-artists/