One Up Internship Provides Johnson Countian Renee Anderson Step onto Career Path in the Arts

Building a career in the arts was something that Renee Anderson had planned for, having studied art and design with a minor in art entrepreneurship at Morehead State University. So when she learned about a paid internship program called One Up that could lead to a job in arts administration, it seemed like a natural step to take.

Renee Anderson

“I always knew I wanted to go into art, but I knew that my focus was more in the administrative side of things, and then someone sent me the link showing me the internship was available,” Anderson said. 

The One Up internship program is an initiative of Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP) available to college students and recent graduates within EKCEP’s 23-county service area. One Up provides real-world learning opportunities on the job site that could transition to full-time employment. The program considers participants’ career interests and actively works to pair them with host employers in their career field of choice. 

Anderson applied for a One Up internship in October 2021 via an online application, and shorty after was accepted into the program and began working with Brian Fields with the LKLP Kentucky Career Center JobSight, which contracts with EKCEP to help deliver workforce programs like One Up.

Fields helped Anderson determine what host employer might best fit her interests, and in November she began an internship with Appalachian Artisan Center in Hindman, Ky., working with the Center’s artistic director on various projects, including the Center’s graphics and outreach and its Culture of Recovery program, which works with Hickory Hill Recovery Center and the Knott County Drug Court to assist individuals in recovery from substance use issues with opportunities for skill building in the arts.

The internship was a great experience, Anderson said, and came at the perfect time. While at the time she had a job that she enjoyed in Pikeville, the internship opportunity was more in line with what she wanted for a career. It also confirmed what she had suspected, namely that a career in arts administration would be a step worth taking.

“I had always known I wanted to be an artist, and I’ll always want to make art, but this kind of thing is more up my alley,” Anderson said. “Working in the gallery was my first step, but then this [job] is more of an actual step into it. It’s kind of like both sides, the administrative and a gallery side that I get to dabble in here.”

By the end of Anderson’s internship in March 2022, she was offered a full-time position as the Center’s artistic director and Culture of Recovery coordinator. It was an offer she didn’t have to consider for long, and it’s a job in her field of choice within her native Eastern Kentucky, something she said was also an important factor in accepting the position. 

“It was great and perfect timing because I always expected I would have to move away from here,” she said. 

Now, in her new full-time position, Anderson’s work is keeping her busy, from preparing artist exhibitions to overseeing printing projects for promotions to working with participants with Hickory Hill and the Knott County Drug Court. It’s the first step onto a career path that Anderson said was made possible because of her decision to apply for a One Up internship, and it’s a step that she would recommend others take, as well.

“Go for it,” she said. “I didn’t know if I would even get it, but I’m glad I did.”

To learn more about One Up and eligibility guidelines, or to apply for an internship, visit www.ekcep.org/one-up.

EKCEP, a nonprofit workforce development agency headquartered in Hazard, Ky., serves the citizens of 23 Appalachian coalfield counties. The agency provides an array of workforce development services and operates the Kentucky Career Center JobSight network of workforce centers, which provide access to more than a dozen state and federal programs that offer employment and training assistance for jobseekers and employers all under one roof. Learn more about us at http://www.ekcep.org, http://www.jobsight.org and http://www.facebook.com/ekcep.