Hazel Wolf Films Internship
Final Report

Reflections/Learning

I have learned a lot in the last seven weeks. This internship is much more loosely structured than other interships or volunteer experiences I have done in the past, and the challenges are different. I really do have the freedom to make almost every aspect of this specific program happen. I have been slow to learn exactly what that requires of me on a daily basis. Judy has really helped me to learn what I need to independently. She doesn’t just hand me instructions, and she really respects me as an adult and co-worker, even when I’m not operating very efficiently. I’ve been learning a lot of nuts’n’bolts aspects of events that I never really appreciated before. These include scheduling with multiple people and departments, advertising, and other organizational needs. At the same time there are many things to keep in mind at once, which can also be surprisingly simple if there aren’t conflicts. I am learning and appreciating how much time and energy people have to put into programs, outside of they’re daily business, just to make the events happen that I usually take for granted.

Now that the semester has come to a close- and I’ve carried out the planned activities (plus a few supplements) I really wish I’d gotten a handle on the timing of this sort of organization. Mainly, an event bringing together so many elements really needs to be rolling a month and a half before the “curtains go up,” not two and a half weeks. Having figured out this rhythm, I’ve been working on events for next semester, and I really think this is where the program needs to go. Each intern would ideally prepare presentations for the following semester, and present ones prepared before. This, of course has its limitations, and I’m currently talking it over with the sponsor.

One aspect I entirely omitted from the previous report was film selection. When selecting films, I perused the long lists Judy Provided, and selected films that appealed based on subjects and presentations that interested me. Then we assessed themes, and tried to address a variety of them, without too much repetition. The final list included Fenceline, Genetic Time Bomb, Wedge to the Ledge, Storewars, More Fun Less Stuff, and Another World is Possible. The possibilities for presenting and disseminating these resources, I now realize, are far less limited than I held before. Besides showings in free theatres, and even classrooms, they could include res-life programs, projects in public schools, or with local clubs. I regret not grappling with this issue earlier. On the whole, though, I feel that this semester has been a success in terms of positive foreward change, and building of momentum. I feel like this momentum will carry me into positive experiences in this project’s continuance, and others.

Goals and Logistics

The goal of this internship is to bring the activist voices of the Hazel Wolf Films Series to the Whitman Community, allowing audiences to participate in personal discussions with scholars and directors involved in Environmental issues. So far, what this has entailed has been choosing themes, films within those, relevant speakers, appropriate dates, and, finally, scheduling all of those together. We have access to all the films of our choice, as well as Kimball theatre, for the five dates we selected. One new goal for this semester was to plan as much as early as possible. However, to show films earlier has only been slightly successful. While I have put in significant work each week, I have not had enough time to take care of all the long term aspects for the whole project. Planning these events in such a way as to not interfere with other campus activities has been a major goal in scheduling, and so far it looks like the selected dates will achieve that goal. From this point, contacting speakers is the major objective, with publicity being the ongoing effort. I am also thinking about taking films and speakers into classrooms where appropriate, an endeavor Judy has encouraged.

Taking into account all of the activities pursued, I think the overarching goal of bringing the issues to the Whitman community was a success. Some events worked better than others, and in different ways. I am fairly confident that none of the showings interfered with other activities, as attendance was modest. Classroom showings turned out to be a major success, and both professors involved were very pleased.

Challenges

My major challenge with this Internship has been the independence aspect, and that I don’t think about it on a daily basis. I don’t think I really appreciated on the outset just how big of a time commitment this is, and I have had to change how I approach it in order to accomplish what I need to. My advise for the future (including myself next semester!) is to jump on things right away, schedule regular times each week to devote to it, and factor it into your “class schedule,” probably as if it was more than 1 credit. I have also been an SA for the Academic Resources Center, a job which can consume an awful lot of time, and the two have butted heads quite a bit for my day to day planning. I would say my average time spent on this project per week has been about four hours, and in the next few weeks putting on the events will probably take more time. That’s the part I’m really looking forward to.

I still think the major challenge was the independence. From previous experiences, I do really well in situations where a leader is very directive for a week or two, and by then I’m real ready to head off in my own new directions. Obviously, that’s not how this internship is meant to be. I probably would have had more initial momentum if I had attended all the meetings and carefully read the entire packet. On the whole, though, I feel like I met the challenges well, built up momentum, and I feel ready to continue this work next semester even if I do not enroll in the internship class.

Key Contacts:

Barbara Preas (Scheduling)
Linda Reyburn (Multi Media Scheduling)
Caroline Cummings at Hazel Wolf Films
Lara Brown at the Union Bulletin
The Pioneer staff (pioneer@whitman.edu)
Bob Carson, and Don Snow in Environmental Studies
Nina Lerman, Paul Apostilidas, Deborah Winter and others at other Whitman Departments.
Film makers and Activists: Mark+Melissa Dworkin, Jim Passat, Steve Jones


Table of planned events for Spring: ‘04