Rocking the Internship: Making Waves As a Project Lead at BankNH Pavilion

The concert venue, BankNH Pavilion, in Gilford, New Hampshire. Photo by Live Nation Premium.

In 2022, I sat in a presentation hall in Southern New Hampshire University’s library during Undergraduate Research Day. That was the last place I wanted to be on a Wednesday afternoon during the last month of the semester. I probably had dinner on my mind, or catching up with my friends back at my dorm. Little did I know that I was about to watch my future unfold.

My professor insisted on my Intro Communication class to observe the older students as they presented their work over the past semester. Looking back, I should have been paying more attention to the nervous students setting up their PowerPoint and practicing their slides before it was their turn to present.

As they began their presentation, the logo for the BankNH Pavilion was blown up on the screen in front of me. I knew the Pavilion well, as I had travelled up to Gilford, New Hampshire to see outdoor concerts at their amphitheater as a kid. The students presented their work they had completed for the BankNH Pavilion, including social media content, blog posts, e-newsletters, press releases, and more in collaboration with the Graphic Design students.

This collaboration with the BankNH Pavilion gave the students experience in hitting hard deadlines and creating and receiving feedback on deliverables that would in turn be used in the BankNH Pavilion’s concert promotion online and at the venue.

Their hard work was leading up to the final day-long event, “Rock the Intern Day” with the BankNH Pavilion in July where they would shadow workers at the Pavilion and get to see the alternative/folk band, the Lumineers, in concert to end the day.

At 19, I didn’t know where these four years would take me and what product would come out of it, but this presentation sparked that idea I had brushed under the rug to combine my passion of entertainment with a career.

The project has evolved and expanded over the years. “Rock the Intern Program” has now extended to other majors, now including Construction Management, Environmental Science, Psychology and Justice Studies, along with Communication, Graphic Design, and the Community and Civic Engagement Office, also known as the Chandler Center.

The students and faculty at SNHU have created an outstanding impression at the BankNH Pavilion, so much so that there are three new roles of Project Leads given to students to fulfill throughout the spring semester. Not only do they get to guide multiple teams through the promotion of a largely acclaimed concert venue but also get to network with industry professionals to jumpstart their careers. Freshman year Laura wouldn’t have guessed that she would be given the opportunity to fill this role during her senior year.

I am entering into my fourth week of the internship, and I can say that this role has big shoes to fill. Myself and my two partners, Warren Olson and Angie Rupple, lead different major projects and collaborate on joint projects. I am leading Communication and Construction Management, Angie is leading Graphic Design and the Chandler Center, and Warren is leading Psych/Justice Studies and Environmental Science. Not much time has gone by, and I am already certain that this is the perfect team to move forward with, as they are both not only hardworking professionals, but also supportive friends.

Usually this would be the time I start to have doubts or let my imposter syndrome fog my thoughts. Being someone that people can count on takes a lot of willpower and self-assurance, which is something I’ve been working on.

We had a meeting last week with Steve Boucher, the Sr. Director of Campus Communication, and Kathleen Procek-Drazin, the Project Based Learning Manager. They highlighted the fact that making mistakes is how we learn and develop. There’s a little part of me that is always trying to silence my ideas in fear of failure, but this semester, I hope to take those risks in order to be the innovator that I know I can be.