Every Moore student receives $1,000 toward a paid internship between their junior and senior years, in addition to a two-part professional development course and ongoing career support through the Locks Career Center. Could YOU be the next Internship All-Star?
Read on to meet Romeo Montero ’24, who scored a job during his senior year at The Fabric Workshop and Museum after his internship experience over the past year. Montero also interned with Shout Mouse Press, where he illustrated a picture book, forthcoming this year.
Romeo Montero ’24 is in the midst of a busy senior year at Moore as both a full-time student and as a Visitor Services Member at The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM). He moved into a full-time role at FWM after serving as the Education, Engagement and Exchange Intern during his junior year, and as an Education Intern during summer 2023, helping out with events and workshops.
As a recipient of the Penny Fox Internship Fellowship, Montero also completed a summer internship with Shout Mouse Press in Washington, DC, as an illustrator for their Beyond Borders 2023 picture book series. Montero had the exciting opportunity to illustrate an entire picture book, which will be published later this year.
“Both of my internship experiences were extremely positive and full of growth and learning,” Montero says.
“I had only worked in the food service and retail industries before these internships, which place a huge emphasis on overworking yourself every second you are on the clock. I learned that my best can be accomplished at a slow pace, too. I learned to give myself forgiveness when I didn’t know how to do something, and to not beat myself up for messing up or having to ask for help. My mentors and supervisors provided so much understanding and support for my growth and learning. People are more than willing to help you and guide you every step of the way—you just have to ask!”
Speaking of support, Montero credits support from his professors at Moore with sealing the deal for both of these opportunities: adjunct faculty member Katrina Kopeloff served as a reference with the Fabric Workshop and Museum, and a lot of the portfolio work for the Shout Mouse Press Beyond Borders opportunity came from Montero’s Illustration for Children course, taught by Joe Kulka, Communications Arts chair and associate professor in Illustration.
In addition to support from his professors, Montero shouts out the Locks Career Center for highlighting the opportunities in the first place. He first landed his FWM internship through the Studio Institute Arts Intern program, an opportunity he first heard about through the Career Center’s newsletter, and he discovered the Shout Mouse Press internship on ConnectMoore.
“The Locks Career Center has great resources to find jobs and internships, and if it wasn’t for the newsletters, I would never have landed my first internship at FWM,” Montero says.
For students preparing for their internship experience, Montero’s advice is: “Start your search early! I was determined to find a well-paid internship, and I found two of them. I began my internship search early in the fall of my junior year, but I was looking for positions even before that.”
After working with both organizations, Montero says that he now has a clearer vision of his post-grad life.
“I’m so grateful to have been able to work two paid internships, both of which have solidified my professional career,” he says. “I am hopeful that the picture book I illustrated for Shout Mouse Press will only open more doors for me—maybe I’ll get signed to an agent for more picture books!”
Artwork and photos courtesy of Romeo Montero ’24
