My Experience as a Museum Education Intern

Hi! I’m Mia Velazquez! I’m a senior Art major and current Student Engagement Intern at the AD&A Museum in their internship program! I’ve had the pleasure of working with Carlyle Constantino, my mentor for the internship as well as the Graduate Curator of Education here at the AD&A Museum. Carlyle has taught me so much about the inner structure of the education department within the AD&A Museum. Also, working with my fellow intern Reese Hutson has been awesome! Reese and I were able to lead the 2nd Annual Night at the Museum this year, which took place on April 15, 2026. We had an amazing turn out this year and the crowd was great! It was awesome to bring excitement and energy into the AD&A Museum halls, with live music outside by Monkfish and Emergency Contact, a Scavenger Hunt, as well as UCSB Concessions selling snacks! 

It's been amazing to work in the education department here at the AD&A Museum, from promoting museum events by creating posters, to helping my mentor Carlyle lead a tour of the AD&A Museum exhibition Tiffany Chung: Indelible Traces (presented January 17-April 26, 2026). I loved being able to enjoy the community of students and visitors who didn’t realize we had an art museum on our UCSB campus, and getting to listen to their experiences and thoughts about the artwork! My seminar leader Nathan Segura has also been an inspiration for me during my senior year. He has helped my growth within the arts industry and museum world, by meeting with me, or talking before class about my interests and my plans for the future! As well, the AD&A internship has opened doors to careers in the museum world that I might not have considered before. Our field trips last quarter [Winter 2026] to the Broad Museum and the Geffen Contemporary Museum at MOCA, helped me get a deeper understanding into the museum industry. Our intern group met with Nathan’s past colleagues at the Broad, and were able to experience the inner workings of both museums and learn about current projects at these museums. It was very interesting to hear about the contemporary exhibitions we experienced and to learn about the artists who created the incredible artworks. Hearing about Nathan’s experiences at the Broad, and his studies leading up to his dissertation, as well as my hands-on experience with Carlyle’s expertise in her field, have inspired me during my senior year! I had such a fun year getting to know all of my fellow interns! Thank you to Nathan and Carlyle for taking the time to help me develop my interests in the museum world/field, by sharing their knowledge and experience with me! I have even been inspired to get a minor in Museum Studies after my year as an AD&A Museum intern! THANK YOU FOR ALL THE MEMORIES!! <3