Showcasing Mint Artists Guild’s Summer Job Minterns

Mint Artists Guild’s Summer Jobs brought in five Mint interns – who are known as Minterns – from the Wolverine Pathways program at the University of Michigan and the Urban Alliance.

Us Minterns have dug into an array of creative work developing social media campaigns, writing blog posts, organizing art supplies, planning for the Concert of Colors Youth Art Fair, improving the Mint shop, helping with Art in the Park arts and crafts, planning the End of Summer Celebration – and taking photos throughout the summer. We also created art. I interviewed some of this summer’s interns to gain insight into their experience being Mint Artists Guild “Minterns” this summer. The Minterns name was devised by Tyesha McLean earlier in the spring.

Mint Artists Guild’s Minterns Sir-Knowledge Watson, Kennedy Overstreet and me, Karen Servin | Photo by Mintern Lily Shields

They were very glad to manage their own projects, showcasing their skills while assisting Mint Artists Guild.

“The Concert of Colors was really exciting because I got to be hands-on from start to finish. I felt good about what we were doing, helping young artists by giving them a space to thrive in their business,” said Mintern Kennedy Overstreet, the events intern.

Kennedy Overstreet working the Mint Artists Guild stand at the Concert of Colors | Photo by Mintern Karen Servin
Kennedy Overstreet working the Mint Artists Guild stand at the Concert of Colors | Photo by Mintern Karen Servin

Mintern Lily Shields worked on the Meet the Artists social media campaign in July. “Through chatting with the artists at Mint and seeing the amazing art that they’ve completed, I gained a better sense of the strong community and creativity that is so present at Mint. It also gave me a chance to get to know the artists and understand the kind of people that they are! It was overall a lot of fun.”

Minterns Sir Knowledge Watson, Kennedy Overstreet, and Lily Shields taking photos and assisting at Clark Park | Photo by Mintern Karen Servin
Minterns Sir-Knowledge Watson, Kennedy Overstreet, and Lily Shields taking photos and assisting at Clark Park | Photo by Mintern Karen Servin

The Mint Artists Guild Summer Jobs Internship is genuinely unique and allowed us, interns, to find out what we’re passionate about. We were able to collaborate with one another and see our impact on Mint Artists Guild in real-time.

“I enjoyed seeing our events come to life”, says Kennedy Overstreet, “I plan on going to a couple afterwards.

Lily Shields adored becoming friends with the Minterns and artists. I also enjoyed getting to create some individual and collaborative art pieces. Overall, my favorite part was seeing how much fun the artists and interns would have at Mint Studios, and getting to document this through social media by taking pictures and videos!” Lily Shields said. Check out her video of our intergenerational Art in the Park:

Minterns not only make an impact on Mint Artists Guild; they also learn new skills to apply to future jobs and opportunities. Here’s key takeaways.

“From working for Mint I have learned the importance of timelines and checklists for planning an event,” Kennedy shared. “Be on time and don’t wait until the deadline to communicate an issue.”

“I learned marketing strategies like using relevant hashtags, how to use Canva in a really productive way, and how to market things in a way that will get people interested. I also learned some cool creative techniques from the art projects that I completed,” Lily says, “Communication is key!”

Lily and Kennedy are both a part of the Wolverine Pathways program. They were presented with different internship choices but ultimately chose Mint Artists Guild. What made Mint Artists Guild stand out against the other opportunities?

“I was mainly interested in being an intern with Mint Artists Guild because it seemed like it would provide me with the opportunity to apply my creative skills while also reinforcing important skills like time management, and planning ahead. Ultimately, I chose Mint because of its positive and flexible environment,” said Lily Shields.

Kennedy Overstreet answered, “I was interested in this internship because it allowed me to get a taste of what I want to do as my career, event planning. I also found the mission of Mint to be very wholesome and I loved that the artists they are helping are from my city,”

Mint Artists Guild's Minterns Lily Shields, Kennedy Overstreet, and Tyesha McLean posing for a photo | Photo by Mintern Karen Servin
Mint Artists Guild’s Minterns Lily Shields, Kennedy Overstreet, and Tyesha McLean posing for a photo | Photo by Mintern Karen Servin

Besides sharing their unique experiences, we want to share some final tips for future Minterns.

“Get comfortable doing art and improvisation,” Kennedy shared.

Lily Shields said, “Think about what you want to take away from the internship, as well as what you can provide Mint Artists Guild with through being an intern.”

We hope you enjoyed learning more about our extensive Summer Jobs program through the lens of the 2022 summer Minterns.

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