Julianna Rae's homepage designed by alumna Meagan Bruce '08

Alumna Meagan Bruce ’08 started working at her current job a couple weeks before she graduated from Montserrat with a concentration in graphic design. She was able to land her position with the help of the Office of Internships and Career Services!

Near the end of her senior year, Bruce had responded to an email post that announced design opportunities with Julianna Rae, a company that designs women’s sleepwear, intimates and active wear. “Most helpful were the emails sent out from the Office of Internships and Career Services,” explained Bruce. “It was better than searching on craigslist.”

With the skills she learned in her classes at Montserrat and the practical experience she acquired during her internship with New England Bride Magazine, Bruce was an attractive candidate to Julianna Rae. “The work at my internship had a lot to do with it; so did my classes at Montserrat in Photoshop and Typography,” Bruce explained. “I had experience and skills that were good to have.”

At Julianna Rae, Bruce creates advertisements for ladies lingerie and leisurewear for web and print. She makes color corrections, retouches photos, and redesigns web layout for a more upscale look. Her print ads also appear in Wellesley Weston Magazine, a quarterly publication for “discerning consumers.”

Bruce’s personal work mostly consists of landscape photography, graphic design and digital imaging. To see more of what she does, visit her website meaganbruce.com

Montserrat’s mandatory internship program began in 2006 and by the end of the 2010-2011 academic year, approximately half of our student interns received offers of employment from their internship sites! Find out more at montserrat.edu.

www.montserrat.edu

From left, at the Peabody Historical Society annual dinner are Heather Leavell, Peabody Historical Society (PHS) Curator; Joan Milnes, Montserrat College of Art Director of Internships and Career Services, William Power, Peabody Historical Society Executive Director; Montserrat alumna Meghan Wicks '11; and Ruth Mowder, PHS Trustee.

As the first annual artists-in-residence with the Peabody Historical Society, student Ash Alba and Meghan Wicks ’11 are spending their days painting landscapes, plants, animals, birds, historic objects, architecture and anything else that catches their eyes in the bucolic and downtown properties preserved by the historical society. Watch for an upcoming article in the Salem News!

Say, “Bon voyage!” to Kristine Williams ’11 as she heads to Iceland for a residency. You can learn more about her project and support her through Kickstarter at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/810680572/fog-form-possibly-gnomes-on-a-tiny-icelandic-islan (see video post below).

Space, the final frontier, is the theme for Carol St. Sauveur ’11 during her internship at NASA. Carol sent this description of what she will be doing this summer: “The internship is part of the STEP UP program with is usually a program geared towards STEM students. This year they created a position specifically for me. My job is to create three documentaries for NASA. One is about the internship program STEP UP, the second is for a two week camp called Reach for the Stars, this camp 1/3 of the children are disabled, 1/3 are children with at risk backgrounds and the other 1/3 are traditional students, and the third documentary is on Camp Agape which is a camp for children with one or two incarcerated parents. I will also be helping with updating the website for the STEP UP program. Today I shot photographs of blind students who came from Indiana to learn about space and rockets and such.”

Meanwhile, back on Earth, student Brittany Armington will be an intern with environmentally-friendly MiiR Bottles creating skin designs, poster designs and package designs.

Hmmm, I wonder if student Randi Giles will be playing games when she’s not designing packaging, logos and photo shoots for her internship with Hasbro in Rhode Island.

These are just a few examples of Montserrat talent being applied to creative endeavors in society and the workplace. Kudos to all!

Joan Milnes
Director, Office of Internships and Career Services
Montserrat College of Art

From left: Meridian interns Zarah Cinarli (pictured with "portrait" of Meridian's wind turbine), Hyun-Ah Jang and Erica Allard.

This semester junior graphic design student Zarah Cinarli, senior photography student Hyun-Ah Jang and senior illustration student Erica Allard are completing their required internships with Meridian Associates in Beverly. The interns designed company newsletters featuring information about the company, Earth Day awareness and Meridian’s work in sustainability. The trio has also designed brochures, developed public presentations and attended trade shows in Boston. Some of their artwork features the hazardous health and environmental consequences of e-waste sent to third world countries. Additionally, Cinarli painted a “portrait” of Meridian’s wind turbine for the company’s new office space. Meridian’s Don Bowen explains his philosophy about working with interns: “It is important to assist with the nurturing of students and helping them to [thrive] in the marketplace. I am certain that Montserrat has cultivated and nourished their creativity and confidence. It is my intention to help them focus on their place in society and to understand business operations.”

Christopher Stepler '09

Printmaking concentrator Christopher Stepler ’09 completed his internship over summer 2008 in New York City with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. He worked in the department that designs floor coverings. His design for a floor tile was accepted and made available in the following season’s catalogue. His floor tile design has been installed in a wifi lounge at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.

Joan Milnes, Director of Internships and Career Services

Please join me in congratulating Joan Milnes, Montserrat’s Director of Internships and Career Services, for receiving the Higher Education Leader of the Year Award from the National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE).

The award is made in recognition of Joan’s use of experiential learning at Montserrat.  In her letter of nomination, Kate Moore, Director North America, EUSA-Academic Internship Programs, writes: “This internship program has broken the boundaries of traditional thinking that art and employment are incompatible.”

Joan, we are proud of your work developing the Montserrat Internship program, of your dedication to each intern you place, and of building a professional profile that helps expand the national reputation of Montserrat.  It’s one more step on the road to premiership!

Dean Laura