Internship Hours:
Date Hours
6/11/14 2
6/16/14 5
6/17/14 5.5
6/18/14 5.5
6/19/14 5.5
6/20/14 5.5
6/21/14 2.5
7/7/14 5
7/8/14 5
7/9/14 5
7/10/14 5
7/11/14 5
7/12/14 1.5
7/21/14 5
7/22/14 5
7/23/14 5
7/24/14 5
7/25/14 5
7/26/14 2
Internship Logs
Week 1: 6/21/14
I’m so proud of my group! The girls I was supervising this week were between the ages of eight and twelve years old and they were so excited to be a part of a band. I made sure to mediate any conflicts and by the end of the week they were all happy with each other. Their band was called the Fantastic Red Wolves and I helped design their band logo which was a great bonding experience. At their showcase I gave them slinkys and they were so happy. I’m really glad this is my internship.
Week 2: 7/12/14
This week I became a roadie as well as an intern and it was actually pretty fun. I learned how to dismantle and reassemble a drum set so I did the setup for my band group as well as the entire second floor. Every day during the kid’s workshop period, I went upstairs and rearranged equipment. I like the other roadies and I’m learning a lot. My band was a little older this session so they were more independent but they were just as happy at their showcase.
Week 3: 7/27/14
This was definitely the most difficult group to mediate. There were multiple fights between the girls but they were happy by the end of the week. This week taught me a lesson in dealing with conflict and I’m proud of how I handled different situations. Overall, this has been a great experience.
Internship Reflection
Let’s talk about conflict. I am a person who has always tried to avoid conflict whenever possible. This is because it has a way of distracting people from reaching their goals, while also hurting their feelings. I’ve done countless group projects and a lot of conflict mediation, and I will tell you right now that there is no conflict like that that occurs in a rock band comprised of ten year old girls.
Such conflict is a daily occurrence in the lives of the campers and staff of the Bay Area Girls Rock Camp.
Bay Area Girls Rock Camp, or BAGRC, is an all-girls music camp in which girls pick an instrument, get daily instrument instruction, form bands, write a song, and perform their songs for friends and family in a showcase. It is an amazing program and I’ve been involved with it ever since its start in 2008, when I was ten years old.
I was a camper every year until I was old enough to start interning. I loved being a camper, but I felt I would be of better use helping out rather than just worrying about my own experience at camp. There was always the need for volunteers, so when I was fifteen I started my first session as an intern.
I applied to be a band coach, knowing that my conflict mediation skills would come in handy. In my experience as a camper, I had learned a rule that never failed. That rule was, in every band there is one. That “one” is a girl that will fight with her band mates, take everything involving the band into her own hands, and reduce at least one other band mate to a puddle of tears. Dealing with these girls had become something of a specialty of mine during my years as a camper and I was ready to put that skill to use.
The first day of camp, bands were formed and I was assigned to be the coach for a band of ten year-olds. They were all excited and full of ideas and I thought that maybe this was the elusive, conflict free band every intern dreams of. That dream didn’t last long. The minute we entered the practice room, the vocalist started to dictate what the band’s song would be. Immediately I thought, “Found her”. The band manager and I explained that band decisions needed to be agreed upon by everyone. The vocalist was agreeable and began asking the other members of the band what music they liked, but she was interrupted by the crash of symbols. I turned to see the drummer hitting the symbols as hard as she could. I told her that she should join the conversation and she could play her instrument later. She shook her head with a grin on her face and continued putting dents in her symbols. “Oh no”, I thought, “It’s another one”. The manager asked for the drummer’s sticks and had her sit with the rest of the group. The drummer sat down, looking very proud of herself, and stuck her tongue out at the vocalist who was glaring at her. And so began a tiny, adorable war that, even I, failed to resolve. This war would forever change the rule that never failed. The rule became, in every band there is AT LEAST one. This, however small it may seem, is a very important distinction.
Over the course of the camp session, there were fights between the vocalist and the drummer about every topic involving the band. I would be able to calm them down and the kids would leave excited for the next day, but that didn’t stop new conflicts from arising. Showcase day arrived and the band sounded awesome. I was really proud of them, but I was even more proud when they all hugged after finishing their song. That day I learned that conflict isn’t failure, it’s a process.