Additional Educational Experiences

Lanti Performing Arts is a small business located in Indian Trail that offers music and theatre classes to children ages 0-18. Music and theatre is taught through either one-on-one private lessons or through group classes. By offering a variety of classes, students are given a more complete and diverse education.  The group classes range from summer camps to full 12-week acting lessons. The apprenticeship program is an opportunity for teenage students to use their talents to lead and empower others, in which they are directly responsible for leading summer camps for young children ages 5-12. Typically, camps are composed of around twenty children and two to three apprentices. Camps meet for three hours, five days a week. However, the workday for apprentices was split into two camps each day, one from 9 am-12 pm and the other from 1-4 pm. A one-hour break is placed in between camps to maintain cleanliness and to switch out staff if applicable. Responsibilities during camp hours included checking children in directly at the door, leading and assisting them in placing their belongings in the cubbies, initiating interaction between children, preparing crafts and necessary tables, encouraging participation, and directly leading integrated music activities. Such crafts ranged from assisting children in drawing, cutting, and gluing paper to ironing perler beads and making slime. Early music and acting activities included introducing simple beats and rhythms through a variety of instruments. A large circle was often made to better engage the campers, with apprentices distributed evenly throughout. This brings me to my next point, that teamwork and communication with other apprentices were also vital, along with taking the initiative to complete certain tasks without being told. It was imperative to have a level of professionalism and work ethic because of the many young, impressionable minds watching. I cannot stress enough how much my leadership and social skills were developed through this experience.  A core component of my personality now is my ability to connect and collaborate with others. Such an experience has made me devoted to inspiring others and making a lasting difference in the community.
 

One unique aspect of being an apprentice that should be highlighted is that in addition to working with children, many precautions had to be taken due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, especially during 2020 and 2021. To ensure the safest possible environment for both the camp attendees and fellow staff members, such new policies were enforced by apprentices such as myself. They included, but were not limited to asking parents to remain outside of the building unless necessary, posting signs throughout the facility to remind students about good hygiene and safety protocols, working through plastic barriers installed at front desk windows, removing extra furniture and toys from the private lesson rooms and the lobby, and disinfecting all frequently touched surfaces and equipment at repeated regular intervals throughout the day. Visual inspections of each child for signs of illness and temperature checks were also required before the start of camp. While such measures were sometimes hard to impose on smaller children, working in an environment in which a virus could easily spread if not managed safely further developed my cleanliness and organizational skills. In a day and age where pandemics become increasingly more likely,  I am thankful to have experience working around such a health hazard, as something similar will inevitably show back up in future jobs.