Meet The B-HIPs: Haley WaughBy Jen Thomas
10:30AM / Tuesday, June 19, 2007
 | | MCLA student and B-HIP intern Haley Waugh [Photo by Jen Thomas] |
The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Berkshire Hills Internship program, known as B-HIP, drew 13 college and graduate student interns from around the globe to its summer session of the arts-based Berkshire region internship program. www.iberkshires.com invites our readers to "Meet the B-HIPs" and discover what the program and our region offers to those with a love of the arts.
North Adams - Though she doesn’t know what she wants to do when she graduates, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts senior Haley Waugh is certain of one thing: she wants to do it on her own terms.
"I take things one step at a time,†said the Augusta, Maine native in a Monday night interview. "I’m still finding out what I want to be."
As part of the Berkshire Hills Internship Program [B-HIP], Waugh is able to combine her skills in public relations and her love for art. Working as an assistant to Executive Director Rebecca Dewitt at the Northern Berkshire Creative Arts, Waugh gets the chance to see first-hand what art world promotion is all about.
"It’s a mix of marketing and publicity and being an artist all at the same time," said Waugh.
NBCA is a community arts center located at the Western Gateway Heritage State Park in North Adams. The initiative offers studio art classes for adults and youth and focuses on visual arts, theater, dance, and music.
"It’s a fairly new non-profit and they offer programs for all ages in all areas of art," said Waugh. "I’m really excited to help them get their name out there."
Supported by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Northern Berkshire Local Cultural Council, the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation’s Gateway Fund and the Northern Berkshire United Way, NBCA is dedicated to bringing art to all members of the community.
Waugh said her B-HIP internship has helped her to re-visit the role of art in her own life.
"It motivates me to do my own artwork and realize that I don’t have to be perfect at it," she said. "Sometimes, I’ll think I can’t do something because I’m not experienced in it, but now I know there’s some freedom in art. It really just allows you to express yourself."
Waugh is a singer, pianist and lyricist, and a painter and drawing artist.
Waugh's internship consists mostly of assisting Dewitt in building a membership in the community and writing press releases, but she’s eager to be a part of the Berkshire art scene.
"I’ve always liked the arts and I really wanted experience in the Berkshires," she said.
She said she likes that the NBCA gives local youth the opportunity to explore arts further than what they learn in schools.
"Kids don’t get a lot of art in schools," she said."There just isn’t enough arts education as it is."
As Waugh prepares for her final year at MCLA, she isn’t certain what her future holds, but she does know that she wants to stay in the New England region.
For the present, she’s concentrating on making the best of B-HIP participation.
"Publicizing for NBCA is allowing me to figure out 'is this right for me?'" she said.
For more information on NBCA, visit a http://www.nbcreativearts.org/index.html Internet web site.
Jen Thomas may be reached via e-mail at jthomas@iberkshires.com or at 413-663-3384 ext. 23.
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