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The EEI Internship program affirms the vital importance of developing professional and social skills through fully inclusive experiences and 100% integration with each Kennedy Center internship cohort of college students and recent graduates. EEI Interns engage in skill development alongside their typically-developing peers, with Kennedy Center staff specialists in special education, accessibility, and employment supporting all members of the internship cadre to develop critical social skills and gain workforce experience.

Every EEI intern participates in the following:

Meaningful work-readiness experience

After an application and interview process, EEI Interns are placed in job sites around the Kennedy Center that align with their interests, skills, and professional goals. Intern placements are in the front-of-house, administrative offices, retail operations, and more. Each semester, supportive work placements are identified, and customized work experiences are developed in collaboration with placement supervisors and social service providers that supports the professional goals of every EEI intern.

Professional Development

Continuing career education is a program priority. EEI Interns engage in professional development offered to all interns in supportive environments that address their individual professional goals. All curricula is created with differentiation in mind and accommodations are provided when necessary. These opportunities include:

• Professional Development Workshops address workplace skills, like resume-writing, interviewing, networking, and public speaking.
• Kennedy Center Look-Ins are seminars that provide a peek behind the scenes into the inner workings of the Kennedy Center and the variety of career pathways available in arts organizations. These are also valuable opportunities to practice social and appropriate meeting behaviors.
• KC Class is a college-level, project-based arts management course on strategic planning and community engagement. Interns work in teams to develop and present a final project tied to course content. EEI Interns are supported through rigorous differentiated instruction with accommodations as needed, and are able to put skills like collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking into action.

Performances and other Arts Experiences

Nourishing a love of the arts is an important program goal. As such, the EEI internship program offers access to the cultural opportunities onstage at the Kennedy Center. Interns will be provided with tickets to performances of their choosing so that they may more deeply experience the nation’s cultural arts center.