Maison Moore, a senior Interdisciplinary Humanities major with a concentration in Studio Art, Design, and Marketing, spent last summer helping children with extended hospitalization feel a bit more at home.
Moore interned with the Design My Room program run by Wish Upon a Teen, a nonprofit organization based in Birmingham, Michigan, that delivers support, programs, and events for teenagers with severe life-limiting medical conditions and extended hospitalization in almost 70 hospitals nationwide.
If a teenager is partnered with Wish Upon a Teen, a room makeover can be requested for them. The Design My Room program then works to make the teen feel more at home in their hospital room.
(Photo credit: Wish Upon a Teen)
This is where Moore’s help was needed and where she was able to use her artistic and design skills. Moore would receive referrals from the hospital including information on the patient’s interests and favorite colors. She then shopped for items for the room and many times she made and painted decorations specifically for the teen.
“It was helpful that I had an art background,” Moore said. “I used my skills to decorate. I also have had a lot of classes about nonprofits and was able to apply what I learned directly to the internship. And, I knew how to work on outreach and their social media.”
“Before last summer, I wasn’t even considering working for a nonprofit. Now I can’t imagine not working for a nonprofit.”
Last year, when looking for internship opportunities, Moore contacted Nancy Sovran, Executive Director for Wish Upon a Teen. The two decided with Moore’s knowledge of nonprofits and art and design skills that an internship with Wish Upon a Teen, and specifically the Design My Room program, was a perfect fit for Moore.
The internship has helped Moore determine what she wants to do after she graduates in May.
“It was an unpaid internship and I wanted to be there every day. I was so happy doing this and I wasn’t even getting paid,” Moore said. “Before last summer, I wasn’t even considering working for a nonprofit. Now I can’t imagine not working for a nonprofit.”
