Executive Leadership Venue Coordinator

at the lion’s pause at st. olaf college in minnesota, usa

As Venue Coordinator at The Lion’s Pause, I deepened my passion for event planning and coordination while gaining essential leadership, management, and logistical skills. In this role, I led the Concert Board, overseeing two event managers, a marketing manager, and a facilities manager. This position taught me the complexities of institutional policy, internal management, and volunteer motivation, as well as the balance between accountability and understanding in leadership. I had the freedom to plan and produce musical events for the campus community, including contracting outside artists and student musicians, managing technical elements such as sound and lighting, and ensuring seamless event logistics. I also developed and managed marketing strategies, designed promotional materials, led public outreach, and created a brand kit for The Lion’s Pause. Attending the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) leadership and event planning conference further strengthened my skills in music management, artist relations, and community-centered programming. This role provided fundamental, hands-on experience in producing culturally rich and engaging events that foster community connection through art and music.

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Social Media Marketing & Content Creation

with figus designer in milan, italy

At Figus Designer, I was tasked with creating engaging content for our Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok pages targeting both a local, Milanese demographic as well as tourists and international online customers. Through this experience, I sharpened my skills in multilingual and multicultural content creation, caption writing, graphic creation, and translations. This taught me the importance of context in translation and content–certain jokes or content could be a hit to Italian viewers and downright confusing to a US audience, even with a translation.

ID229

Arts Management

“This course provides an overview of the key issues that face arts administrators. Topics addressed include strategic planning, budgeting, fund raising, audience development, and human resource management as each relates to the unique setting of the arts. Case analysis and guest speakers provide opportunities to explore application of key concepts.”

This class was especially valuable because it shifted my view of art from something you simply create to something you’re also responsible for sustaining—through funding, community engagement, and impact. I hadn’t fully considered this perspective until I began working at the Pause. The course taught me how to motivate collaborators, gather community feedback, and host events people genuinely care about. It highlighted how essential the community is to the arts, especially in a time of limited funding. I also gained a deeper understanding of the broader economic and social impacts of creative work, and the importance of being mindful about how media influences audiences and reflects on its creators.

ART 104

Foundation New Media

Because this class covered a wide range of media production techniques, I developed a stronger understanding of new, multimedia approaches to creative thinking. It also emphasized foundational skills such as an understanding of composition, sound quality, and digital camera operation that I hadn’t encountered much at St. Olaf, making it a valuable learning experience. As a fast-paced J-Term course, it required focus, efficiency, and time management, especially with a final group project that reinforced the importance of collaboration and meeting production deadlines. One of my main takeaways was that I gained stronger Adobe software skills, but I also came away with a refreshed creative perspective shaped by both the professor and my peers.

MGMT 3101

international marketing

Taken with CIEE in Seville, Spain, this course examined global branding, marketing campaigns, and cross-cultural communication strategies. Coursework covered market analysis, consumer behavior, and promotional planning in international contexts, with an emphasis on adapting strategies to different cultural and economic environments. This class reinforced my understanding of branding and campaign development while expanding my skills in creating marketing approaches tailored to diverse audiences.

FMS220 

Podcasting and Photography

“This course introduces students to film and media production. The course rotates topics to accommodate various modes of production such as documentary, experimental, and narrative filmmaking. Students view and study film, learn the creative and technical skills associated with the course’s focus, as well as participate in their own film and media productions.”

This course provided me with valuable technical skills, including proficiency in Adobe softwares and Audacity for editing and producing multimedia content. We also examined the social and ethical implications of media and journalism, learning how to thoughtfully consider these factors when creating our own work, and when interviewing. As an ACE course, it emphasized project management and professionalism through hands-on work with podcasts and our external partners, so meeting deadlines and maintaining high-quality output were especially important. One of my main takeaways was a new understanding of the power of sound editing—something I hadn’t considered deeply before. I now recognize how audio design can shape audience perceptions and meaning in media, and audio mixing and editing abilities are so helpful when is comes to live music documentation.

MEDIA 3004 

Digital and Visual Culture in Contemporary Spain

“This course explores the main historical, cultural and identity issues of contemporary Spain (from the 1930s of the twentieth century until today) through the study and analysis of visual media, with special emphasis on photography and cinema. It examines media representations in terms of “cultural memory”. Together with the exploration of a number of historical periods of the recent history of Spain – including the Civil War, the Franco dictatorship, or the transition to democracy – the topics covered over the course will familiarize students with leading figures of visual arts in contemporary Spain (such as photographers, filmmakers, writers, and media artists), with the debate on media representation and cultural memory, and with the concept of post-photography, eventually relating visual and digital culture in the context of postmodernity in Spain.”

Although this course focused on the context of contemporary Spain, it taught me valuable skills in critically analyzing visual media and understanding its role in cultivating culture. In our visually oriented society, media—especially visual and digital—plays a powerful role in shaping cultural identity. This is important knowledge to keep in mind when producing my own media, whether for marketing and promotional materials, community outreach, or event documentation. It also reinforced the importance of being aware of the broader societal and cultural impact that media can have, and the responsibility that comes with creating it.