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Home » News » Nicole Deason Interns as an Art Instructor for Adults with Disabilities

Nicole Deason Interns as an Art Instructor for Adults with Disabilities

Published April 20, 2020

from FSU Art BA ’20 Nicole Deason:

Throughout this semester I have been working at Pyramid Studios in Tallahassee as an art instructor for adults with disabilities. Pyramid Studios is an arts-based day training program that adults with disabilities can attend to take classes in visual and performing art, dance, music, and life skills. Since I am working to become an art therapist, this internship seemed like the perfect match.

My responsibilities as an art instructor included leading a table of up to 6 students, assisting each student with their own project, developing new projects and teaching new art skills, managing disruptive behaviors, assisting with personal care, and maintaining a clean and organized classroom. Each day was challenging in its own way from having to think of a project to teach on the spot to learning how to handle a severe behavioral outburst. Through these challenges I learned many valuable skills that will benefit me for life.

Although I have been temporarily laid off because of the pandemic, this internship has helped me become a more patient, adaptable, and driven artist and professional overall. I am looking forward to when I can return and get back into the art room. I absolutely loved getting to know each of my students, seeing their progress, and witnessing how proud they were of their accomplishments. I will always remember how happy they were to see me each day and how much effort they put into each project. I valued this internship so much that I plan on staying with this company for the next couple years–hopefully working my way up from an art instructor to an art coordinator. I came into this internship thinking my background in art, psychology, and experience with working with people with disabilities would make it a breeze, but I ended up walking away with more valuable skills and experiences than I could have ever imagined. If you want to challenge yourself as an artist and as a person in general, I highly recommend this internship.