The Internship.

PLA iii!
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The Internship
PLA iii!

The Media Academy internship was an opportunity made possible by the Public Library Association's Inclusive Internship Initiative (iii!). The overarching goal of iii! is to introduce students from diverse backgrounds to careers in librarianship. Through a summer-long mentored learning project, library mentors engage with the intern on multiple facets of library life, from administration to programming to user services. Along with the local opportunities, all 50 PLA ii Interns from across the country had opportunities to connect and learn from one another during the kickoff in Washington, D.C. and the wrap up in Chicago, IL.  

Madison Public Library was proud to host Eli Blakely for the 2018 PLA iii internship.

Madison Public Library's Media Academy intern, Eli Blakely, sponsored by the Public Library Association's Inclusive Internship Initiative

Eli attending a PLA iii kickoff session at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

 

Public Library Association iii 2018 Inclusive Internship Initiative, Washington, D.C.
Mentor (Rob "Rob Dz" Franklin) and mentee standing proud at Union Station while attending the PLA iii kickoff in Washington, D.C.
Picture of Amadou Kromah leading a group photography lesson.
Camera instructions from local photographer, Amadou Kromah.
Picture of the crew on a Bucky Badger hunt.
Navigating the bus system to hunt down, photograph and document the "Bucky's On Parade".
Picture of PLA intern, Eli Blakely, working on beat production with another student.
Eli works with teen producer, Jonathan, to explore what type of beats they are looking to create for the album.
Picture of PLA intern, Eli Blakely, in a training session with MPL Librarian, Liz Amundson.
Getting his library science on with Librarian, Liz Amundson.

 

 

Eli says:

"I would say this internship taught me a lot about libraries, a lot about my community and a lot about myself. I would encourage everyone to invest your everything into the things you care about. And that is why I chose to make a music video for my song "Committed", because it is about me growing up from a young kid to now, and just how I feel about succeeding in life and what the community should do for its people. "