Welcome back, Hounds! We are jumpstarting this semester by highlighting Alena Nguyen, a junior Graphic Design major. Alena recently began her Spring internship at Hanover Theatre in Worcester as the Graphic Design Intern and hopes to gain valuable experience developing promotional materials for the theatre. Read the interview below to learn more about Alena’s internship.
Alena Nguyen ’25
Describe a typical day as an intern. What are your day-to-day tasks and responsibilities?
Some tasks that I typically work on are creating promotional flyers such as digital banners for Broadway shows and other performances occurring at the Hanover Theatre. I also work with the Creative Services Coordinator and the Content Managers to create gifs and different-sized flyers that are used to promote the theatre online. Other responsibilities include more office-based tasks such as making sure rack cards and banners regarding upcoming shows and the theatre are up to date and supplied around the building.
Describe any major projects or accomplishments you were involved in.
During my time at the Hanover Theatre so far, I have been able to assist with an annual appreciation event that they host for their sponsors. I have also been able to participate in tabling during the showing of the Broadway musical, Beetlejuice, where I greeted people coming into the theatre and answered any questions they may have had. Lastly, I’ve also started creating promotional flyers for an upcoming event that the theatre is hosting this season.
What are your career goals? How will this internship help you reach those goals?
I am currently a junior and my goal is to be able to work in the graphic design/marketing field after graduating as graphic design is my major and marketing is my minor. This internship will help me reach these goals as my position relates directly to graphic design with me creating promotional materials for the theatre. I also have the chance to assist in tabling during shows which will allow me to learn more about marketing as we can speak directly to patrons of the theatre.
What are your key takeaways from this internship? What skills do you hope to gain?
From the time that I’ve been at my internship, I’ve gotten more familiar with Adobe In-Design as the majority of the work I do for the internship uses that program. I also was able to learn more features in Adobe Photoshop that I had not previously used such as using the timeline tool to create gifs for banners the company includes in their monthly emails to their subscribers. For the rest of my time at my internship, I hope to be able to learn more about creating promotion videos because I want to be able to immerse myself in every aspect of graphic design.
Why did you apply to this internship? What aspects of the position/company interest you?
I applied to this internship because I enjoy watching theatre and the idea of working behind the scenes at a theatre interested me. It was also a close-to-home option for me which would allow me to be more immersed into the environment which I find more helpful when working and learning.
How has your Assumption education prepared you for this internship?
A course that I feel prepared me for this internship was Typography because I utilized Adobe In-Design for projects; it is an essential software to understand for this internship. Another aspect of Assumption that prepared me was my past campus involvement as the Public Relations Coordinator for ALANA and my current role as a Graphic Designer for Commuters Connect. Within these two roles, I created many promotional flyers for club meetings and events which gave me more experience in the field of graphic design.
What advice would you give to a student who wants to participate in an internship?
Make sure you are constantly looking for internships as they’re always being updated. Also, do not be afraid if you don’t know something. An internship is also a learning opportunity.
Do you want to be featured next on Highlighting Hounds? Email us at careerdevelopment@assumption.edu.
