Several Wheaton students spent the past summer engaging in engaging off-campus internships. Two students, sophomores Audrey Spina ’17 and Liam Grace-Flood ’17, completed fun, insightful and enlightening art-related internships last summer.

Although currently undeclared, Audrey Spina ’17 plans to major in art history as well as minor in studio art. 

During her internship at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, Connecticut, Spina led tour groups, did studio work with camps and kids, and taught art history in the galleries as well as an exhibition about ocean exploration and ancient civilization. 

Spina’s experience working with kids has left a deep impression on her. She says that “it was really cool to see how art affected the kids. A lot of them come from low-income families,” and yet “they’re so into it [art] when they’re there [at the museum]. I think that art really does bring out the best in people.”

Currently, Spina’s plans for the future are open. “Anything that involves art, I’m willing to try,” she says.

Liam Grace-Flood is a declared math major and studio art minor who is also pursuing a 3-2 Engineering or Dual-Degree Program at Dartmouth. Grace-Flood says that he is all about “the intersection of art and science and how productive that combination can really be.”

Grace-Flood landed the position of “CNC Design Intern” at the Eli Whitney Museum in Hamden, Connecticut. Grace-Flood says that the museum is “a museum unlike any other museum. It’s about helping students through the fundamental experiments of childhood, and teaching kids the spirit of Yankee ingenuity and creative problem solving through design thinking.”

Over the course of the summer, Grace-Flood designed projects and experiments to help teach kids about this particular way of thinking. 

On his internship, Grace-Flood says, “It was definitely a valuable experience and I’m glad that it happened.”