Meet the Interns: Part 1!

Hello, all. My name is Tyler. I’m the latest intern here at The Cabin. I’m a student at Boise State University majoring in English with an emphasis on creative writing. Writing has become a fairly recent endeavor for me but it’s become an all-consuming hobby just the same.My initial experience with The Cabin was in the form of a reading by one of my former writing instructors and The Cabin’s own teaching-writer Christian Winn. I was impressed with what The Cabin offered to Boise’s robust literary community and vowed, some day, to be a part of it. Lo and behold, two years later and here I am.The internship began not with a bang but with a ring. One of the more potent thing I’ve learned about myself throughout these twenty-something years is my seemingly inexhaustible loathing of telephone correspondence. A solid five seconds before the phone actually rings, a red light signals the incoming call. Before I can make amends to the calling patron’s membership status or enroll his or her child in a summer writing camp, I must engage in a fruitless staring contest with my own HAL 9000.When not speaking on the phone, I can be found fastidiously working on other tasks at the front desk. I am the self-styled first line of defense for those patrons who step through The Cabin’s front door. I often make adjustments or entries into spreadsheets in anticipation for the upcoming summer writing camps for kids.My expectations for the internship were probably a little too ideal in hindsight. I’m not sure why but I put quite a bit of stock in my own writing ability, as though the internship would require spontaneous poetry workshops. I am learning about a major component of interning for a literary center: the non-profit business aspect.The amazing programs that The Cabin offers are not products of whimsical musings or happenstance. No, these services come to fruition due to a dedicated and passionate staff who willingly subject themselves to the darkest depths of Microsoft Excel. Though some of the work involved here may feel a bit tedious at times, I can’t help but find myself entering and exiting the building with a smile on my face.I do truly feel like I’m cultivating a lovely set of business skills that will help me in my professional escapades. I’m also more than happy to do this work when I consider the end result: helping the next generation of Boise writers find their niche. I’m all the more excited for the work I’ll be doing for The Cabin once the writing camps begin.