This Artist Isn't Starving — She's Thriving
Rachel Trinkley graduated from Saint Mary's College in May with an art degree and a summer internship at the Indianapolis Museum of Art under her belt (she was one 15 people selected from a pool of hundreds). Now a graduate student at Ohio State University, she is also gainfully employed by the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) as a private contractor.
“Rachel was more than an intern to us; she was a great colleague,” raves Linda Duke, director of museum education for the IMA. “I never imagined that someone coming directly from undergrad school would be able to work at the level that Rachel did. We kept throwing higher and higher level assignments to her, and she did an outstanding job on everything.”
Rachel did so well, in fact, that Duke put her on the payroll, despite the fact that she is now a full-time grad student. “We've asked her to help us on a project, long distance, while she is in graduate school. She is actually developing content and copy for the educational components of our new European galleries, which will open in December.”
As most arts internships are, this one at the IMA was unpaid. For Rachel, no income meant no internship. But thanks to a grant from INC@SMC — a program at Saint Mary's College funded by Lilly Endowment, Inc., that helps connect students with Indiana employers for internships and career opportunities—she could afford to do it. “The grant provided me with the means to set up in a new city, make this connection, gain uparalleled experience and, ultimately, get a job.”