Hi everyone! My name is Quenaysha Copes and I am a senior Political Science student at Ohio State University. My Fellowship site for this summer is at the Ohio Craft Museum. This museum is a program of Ohio Designer Craftsmen. The museum houses the Craft research library and facilitates educational classes for people of all ages and artistic levels. There are 5 major exhibits that are presented every year, currently with the ( ) exhibit in house. In addition to being a great craft museum and learning center, the Ohio Craft Museum puts on an extremely popular craft summer camp for kids ages 6-12yrs old!

This past week, I could not have felt more welcomed. Everyone who works here is extremely pleasant to be around and engages with me in great conversations. At the beginning of the week, I spent more time working alongside Phyllis who oversees the summer camp for the kids. During this time we prepped materials and lessons for the next 5 weeks. Instead of just having me there as a tool to listen to their plans and help them make them happen, Phyllis always asks me my opinions on different things and actually takes them into consideration on whether we’ll do something or not. Later in the week I was able to go up to the museum area and help out up there. Here I worked with Kim, () and (). This is where I was able to work on my skills in customer service and retail. I would greet guests when they came into the museum, answer phone calls and ring people out from the giftshop. 

Overall, my first week is way more than I imagined. I feel welcomed and appreciated in everything that I do for my organization. I have made several amazing connections and it is just the beginning. I look forward to what my future weeks have to bring and I’m very grateful to the Columbus Foundation for giving me this opportunity!