Student Blog: AAPD Summer Internship Program - Orientation Reflections

On Sunday May 25th, I moved to Washington D.C. to participate in the American Association for People with Disabilities Summer Internship Program with a placement site within D.C.’s performing arts community. The AAPD Summer Internship Program is a professional and leadership development opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students and recent graduates with disabilities. Since arriving, I have been adapting to my new life, getting to know the people in the AAPD community, learning more about the D.C. arts scene, and preparing for my next internship in the performing arts. So far, this program has left me reflecting on the importance of community, authenticity, and self-care while pursuing a career in the arts as a disabled person. Here are some reflections from my first week here:

Community and Care: The 20 Interns in AAPD’s SIP cohort spent our first week in D.C. attending orientation at the AAPD’s office. During this time, we have gotten to bond and truly become a community of people who care for each other and offer each other mutual support. In our individualistic society, it has been refreshing to be a part of a community that has been practicing what we are being taught about community care, interdependence, and making space for accessible community building activities. We ended our first week together with a potluck dinner to celebrate the joy of being in community with each other before the remote interns in our cohort returned to their home states. Since I am one of 12 in-person interns who will continue to reside in D.C. for the summer, I am hoping to help our community to continue connecting through remote and hybrid activities. We will all be busy at our various placement sites, but we can continue to support each other and are planning to despite being separated in states across the nation.

Being Openly Disabled: This first week has allowed me to feel perhaps the most comfortable I have ever felt unmasking my Autism. For context, masking is. Being in a community of all disabled interns,my staff, and alumni has made it easy to quickly be at ease with my community, be openly disabled, and practice self care during orientation. Being comfortable enough to be openly disabled and my full self within our shared spaces has helped me to build connections, learn, network, and be at peace enough to really enjoy being in such an incredible program. I am going into the advancement department of a wonderful performing arts nonprofit on Monday, but I am not worried about how my orientation with them will go because I have been made to feel safe and secure in who I am and the people I will be spending my summer with. The organization is prepared to accomodate me as needed so that I can work as efficiently as possible, something which many disabled people in the workforce worry about. Nevertheless, AAPD also provided us with a panel discussion on advocating for our access needs in the workspace. This is something I would’ve loved to attend when I was first starting my career in theater, but I am glad to have had this opportunity this May.

My experiences with AAPD and before now with other arts organizations makes me wonder how other arts organizations I am not familar with approach arts access. Accessibility has allowed me to thrive as a student, audience member, and arts professional. It has also been at the center of my work from the start of my first year of college to the present as a rising sophmore. I got to work on access to live theater for Philadelphia Young Playwrights' student as a part of a ticket initiative which has now turned into a fund in honor of their late Finance Manager, Judy. As a Theatre Philadelphia Fellow, I worked on an Instagram series spotlighting access services at local theaters, as well as incorporating accessibility info into our 2025 Philly Theatre Week Guide. I hope to continue seeing arts organizations making their spaces accessible and comfortable for disabled people and others who may face barriers to the arts and careers in the theater industry. Furthermore, I hope to contribute to the work of other arts organizations interested in enhancing their accessibility efforts.

The Value of the Arts: I am coming to D.C. not long after organizations I worked for in my home city (Philadelphia) lost funding from the NEA. As I prepare to enter an Advancement internship with a new arts organization and explore D.C.’s arts and culture scene, I cannot help but think of how undervalued and underfunded arts organizations are. I am hoping I can help my team to show others the value of our work and the arts in general as a provider of joy, tool for advocacy, and an important element of the human experience which deserves appreciation and funding. I have benefited from and seen the benefits of funding for arts organizations as a student, creative, patron, and young professional. Being a part of the theater industry gives me the opportunity to be a voice for the communities I work with, so I want to use this power to uplift artists, arts education programs, and those putting in the work to empower creatives across this country