Release Date: June 18, 2015

National Gallery of Art Awards 19 Summer Internships to International Students from 13 States and Washington, DC, and 2 Foreign Countries

Back row: Nare G. Aleksanyan, Tyler Shine, Courtney Rookard, Jacinta Johnson and Lex Lancaster
Front row: Julie Warchol, Taylor Heasley, Jessica Spencer and Catherine Williams

Back row: Emily Francisco, Sundas Azfer, Kayleigh Perkov, Mason McClew, Terence Washington
Front row: Lindsay Dupertuis, Tiffany St. Julien, Amy Aughinbaugh, and Sitthiporn Thongnopnua

Washington, DC—The National Gallery of Art welcomed 19 students and recent graduates to participate in its 2015 summer internship program. The international group was selected after a competitive application process and includes individuals from 13 states and Washington, DC, and two foreign countries. The nine-week internships began on Monday, June 8, and will conclude on Friday, August 7. The interns are joined by a Culturex Fellow from Spain.

The Gallery's summer internship program provides the opportunity for graduate-level and postgraduate students to work on projects directed by a Gallery department head or curator. In 2015, two internships are provided through a contract with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Interns are chosen for this rigorous program based on a strong interest in museum work, outstanding academic achievement, and letters of recommendation, among other criteria. In addition to placements in traditional areas—curatorial, education, conservation, and administration—the Gallery also offers internships in horticulture, graphic design, architecture, publishing, archives, music, and public safety. As part of their regular work schedule, interns attend a biweekly seminar that introduces them to the broad spectrum of museum work and to Gallery departments, staff, functions, and programs.

The internship program is supported by individual gifts and endowment funds. The program is administered by the department of academic programs in the division of education. Information about the summer internship program, as well as about other Gallery internships and fellowships, is available at www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/opportunities/interns-and-fellows.html or by calling (202) 842-6257.

2015 National Gallery of Art Summer Interns

Nare G. Aleksanyan
Los Angeles, California
Nare received an AA (art history and general studies: arts) from Los Angeles Valley College and a BA (art history, minor Russian language) from the University of California, Berkeley. She is currently pursuing a JD at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. Nare has received a number of scholarships and awards and was recently named a 2015 Luys Foundation Scholar. This summer, she will work in the department of personnel, assisting attorneys in the preparation of cases before the EEO Commission, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and the Federal Labor Relations Authority. Nare is an American citizen, born in Armenia, and is fluent in Armenian.

Amy Aughinbaugh
Plano, Texas
Amy received a BA (art history) from Rhodes College, Memphis, TN. She is currently pursuing an MA (arts management) and an MBA at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX. Previously, Amy was a Teach for America fellow in the Dallas–Fort Worth region. She has interned at the Dallas Museum of Art and at Big Thought, a nonprofit organization in Dallas. While at the Gallery, Amy will assist the development department with fundraising and administration.

Sundas Azfer
Islamabad, Pakistan
Sundas received a BFA (painting) from the National College of Arts, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. She is currently pursuing an MA (art and design studies) at Beaconhouse National University, Lahore, Pakistan. Her graduate studies are supported by a UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Scholarship. Previously, Sundas interned at the University Art Gallery, Clarion, PA. This summer, Sundas will assist the art information program by working with volunteers, researching and preparing responses to written requests about art from the general public, and delivering two gallery talks. She will also work in the department of gallery and studio learning, supporting the National Teacher Institute. Sundas is a Pakistani citizen.

Charlette Caldwell
Tacoma, Washington
Charlette received a BA (architecture) from Syracuse University in New York. She is currently pursuing an MS (historic preservation) at the University of Pennsylvania. Previously, Charlette interned at Absher Construction Company in Puyallup, WA. For her summer internship, Charlette will review files, construction plans, and progress photographs to produce materials showing the development and evolution of the Gallery's ongoing master facilities plan projects.

Lindsay Dupertuis
Washington, DC
Lindsay received a BA (art history) from Oberlin College in Ohio. She is currently pursuing a PhD (art history) at the University of Maryland, College Park. Previously, Lindsay interned at the Walters Art Museum and at the Morgan Library and Museum. This summer, she will work with the curators and object conservators to study and interpret works from the Gallery's permanent collection of sculpture and decorative arts, chiefly Italian (15th and 16th century) and French (18th and 19th century).

Emily Ann Francisco
Chelmsford, Massachusetts
Emily received a BA (art history and English with writing concentration) from Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. Currently, she is pursuing an MA (art history and museum studies) at Syracuse University. She has interned at the Musselman Library, Gettysburg College, and at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. While at the Gallery, Emily will assist in the preparation of exhibition-related publications as well as materials for distribution and use at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany this October.

Taylor Heasley
Burnsville, North Carolina
Taylor is pursuing a BA (early childhood education) at Ohio Wesleyan University. Previously, she was a summer intern in the office of public programs at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. This summer, Taylor will photograph a variety of different departmental and public activities at the Gallery in order to create a behind-the-scenes photo portfolio of work and service performed by Gallery employees, to be used in internal filmmaking initiatives about these same activities.

Jacinta Johnson
Portland, Oregon
Jacinta received a BFA (art practices) from Portland State University in Oregon. Currently, she is pursuing an MS through the Winterthur/University of Delaware program in art conservation. Jacinta has completed several conservation internships at museums and private practices and will begin a yearlong fellowship in paper conservation at the Cleveland Museum of Art this fall. This summer, Jacinta will assist the department of paper conservation with research and treatments.

Lex Morgan Lancaster
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Lex received a BA (art history) from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. She is currently pursuing a PhD (art history) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Previously, she was an intern in the contemporary art department at the Cleveland Museum of Art. This summer, Lex will draft entries for the catalog that will accompany an upcoming exhibition of contemporary photography.

Mason McClew
Cleveland, Ohio
Mason received a BA (art history) from Ohio State University and is currently pursuing an MA (art history) at Case Western Reserve University. Previously, he worked as curatorial and collections assistant for American art at the Columbus Museum of Art in Ohio. While at the Gallery, Mason will assist with planning and research for an upcoming exhibition and publication devoted to early American modernism.

Kayleigh Perkov
San Pedro, California
Kayleigh received a BA (art history) from the University of California, Los Angeles. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate (visual studies) at the University of California, Irvine. She has interned at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles; and the J. Paul Getty Center, also in Los Angeles. This summer, Kayleigh will work on digital art history projects for the Center for Advanced Study in Visual Arts (CASVA).

Courtney Rookard
San Pedro, California
Courtney received a BA (English) from Washington State University in Pullman, WA. She recently completed an MLS (archives and records management) at Indiana University Bloomington. Previously, Courtney was a junior fellow in the manuscripts division of the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. For her summer internship, Courtney will work on a project identifying and organizing historical files and architectural drawings relating to the Gallery's history and recent building projects.

Tyler Steven Shine
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Tyler received a BA (art history) from the University of Pittsburgh. Currently, he is pursuing a PhD (art history) at the University of Maryland, College Park. Tyler has interned at the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Andy Warhol Museum, both in Pittsburgh. For his summer internship, Tyler will assist the department of photographs with the cataloging and researching of photographs recently acquired by the Gallery.

Jessica Spencer
Savannah, Georgia
Jessica received a BA (history) from Macon State College in Georgia. Currently, she is pursuing an MBA at Georgia Southern University, where she holds the William T. Herring MBA Scholarship. Previously, Jessica interned at Golden Hands CDC and the Georgia Music Hall. This summer, Jessica will help refine the sustainability performance annual report card for the Gallery based on its strategic sustainability performance plan.

Tiffany St. Julien
Stafford, Virginia
Tiffany is pursuing a BFA (visual arts, graphic design concentration) at Virginia State University. Previously, she interned at Createathon at Virginia State University, helping nonprofits in the Richmond community. For her summer internship, Tiffany will assist the press office with research, photo shoot coordination, social media initiatives, meeting preparation, press conference logistics, final report summaries, and fielding a variety of queries from the media.

Sitthiporn Thongnopnua
Tallahassee, Florida
Sitthiporn received a BA (visual arts) from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, and an MFA (painting) from Miami University in Oxford, OH. She earned a graduate certificate (program evaluation) and is currently a PhD candidate (arts administration) at Florida State University. Previously, Sitthiporn completed an internship with artist Ithipol Thangchalok, who was honored in 2008 as National Artist of Thailand. This summer, she will assist with the Gallery's efforts to connect people, art, and learning through digital initiatives.

Julie Warchol
Agawam, Massachusetts
Julie received a BA (art history and studio art) from Clark University in Worcester, MA,  and an MA (modern and contemporary art history) from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Previously, Julie was the Brown Post-Baccalaureate Curatorial Fellow at the Smith College Museum of Art. This summer, she will assist in research and organization for the upcoming photography exhibition East of the Mississippi showing at the National Gallery of Art from February 26 to May 29, 2017.

Terence Washington
Columbia, South Carolina
Terence recently completed a BA (liberal arts) at St. John's College, Annapolis, MD. Previously, Terence served as a linguist in the United States Air Force, where he reached the rank of staff sergeant. He will begin coursework this fall for an MA (history of art) at Williams College, Williamstown, MA. This summer, Terence will research and identify artists and works of art depicted in the journal Art International, a photo archive in the Gallery Library's Department of Image Collections.

Catherine Williams
Waikato, New Zealand
Catherine received a BA (arts and humanities) from University College Roosevelt, Middelburg, the Netherlands. She received a postgraduate diploma (conservation studies) and is currently pursuing at MA (conservation of historic objects) at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom. She was a recipient of the 2014 Zibby Garnett Travel Fellowship for fresco conservation at the Stobi Archaeological Site, Macedonia. Most recently, she was an intern at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, located in Wellington. For her summer internship, Catherine is working on the annual maintenance of outdoor sculptures. Catherine is a New Zealand citizen.

2015 Culturex Fellowship, Spanish Ministry of Culture

Moisés García Rubio
Oviedo, Spain
Moisés received a BA (media studies) from the Universidad de Salamanca, an MA (arts management) from the Universidad de Alcalá, and an MBA from the Universidad Antonio de Nebrija in Madrid, Spain. Most recently, he was the director of Casa de la Cultura de Cangas de Onís Asturias, Spain. From June to December, he will assist the press office in disseminating information about the Gallery nationally and internationally. Moisés will also help the department of academic programs with background research for upcoming lecture programs. Moisés is a Spanish citizen.