We are officially halfway through the Summer Fellowship program! This week was another shorter one for me at CMA because of the holiday observed on July 3rd, but it was quite busy nonetheless.

I started off the week continuing my College Night Shift project. Last week in our 1-on-1 chat, Nicole, Senior Director of Exhibitions and Collections, expressed enthusiasm about my project but was concerned about student turnout for the event. She strongly encouraged me to reach out to OSU students and make personal connections, get feedback on College Night Shift, and make them feel included in the ideation process. I reached out to 12 OSU student-led organizations and several members of the Ohio Activities Union Board. I picked art and music clubs who would be interested in College Night Shift based on their mission statements and set up several online meetings. I met with three OSU orgs throughout the week: Arts4Hearts, History of Art Grad Student Association, and Music Heals. I’m very grateful for everyone’s time, as these students were very generous with their time during the summer. As Nicole emphasized to me, these connections with clubs will be the key factor in ensuring substantial turnout. Ultimately, my goal by the end of the summer is to plan out all logistics of College Night Shift and create strong relationships with OSU student-led organizations for a successful night in September. I hope we can make this event happen!

In addition to spending most of my time on College Night Shift planning, I completed three more 1-on-1s. In my meeting with Audrey, Digital Content Coordinator, we discussed possible marketing strategies on Instagram for college students. On Wednesday, I met with Deidre, Director of the Aminah Robinson Legacy Project, where I learned about how her background in law and her lifelong appreciation for art led her to work at CMA on preserving Robinson’s work and legacy for future generations. Today, I met with Molly, Annual Giving Manager, where I learned about her time in philanthropy at Bath & Bodyworks and how that informed her work with individual and family donors at CMA. These 1-on-1 chats have been so informative and helpful in connecting with other members of the large team here at CMA. It has also been wonderful to get new perspectives on College Night Shift from individuals with vastly different positions and experiences! Looking forward to week 6!

-Muji