Waterfire Intern Learns Secrets of Development

A million people are coming to Providence for Waterfire, the city’s massive festival/concert/art mash-up. And it is JWU intern Joy Liu’s job to make sure it happens — well, with a little help from a fellow JWU grad.

How Do You Talk to a Vice President?
Joy remembers seeing the Providence River ablaze for the first time. “I thought, Wow, this would be a cool place to work." But when she got this internship, she realized she’s entered the development big leagues.

“It was a little overwhelming, at first!" Joy says. “Waterfire’s a nonprofit; it’s fully funded by private donors. So our responsibility is to get that funding.”

Joy had never talked to the VP of a company like At&T, Cox, NBC10, Amica or ClearChannel before. Luckily, Joy found a mentor in Sierra, a JWU grad who also did her internship at Waterfire, then was hired full-time.

JWU Alum Becomes Development Mentor
“It’s been great working with Sierra, because I get to learn that high-level communication.” She absorbed Sierra's tips for development, and found she was learning a great deal.

“I learned that a big part of development is it’s not just ‘getting money.’ It’s building relationships with people, so you can continue to get that funding.” 

Acing a Crash Course in Development
“Now, I’m actually talking with the VP’s of major companies,” Joy says. “So I’m getting really high-end development experience.” Now she feels ready to take on this kind of career.

Sierra thinks she's ready, too. “I’m more and more impressed with Joy. I see her ready for the workforce, and any company would be lucky to have her.”

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