We loved having Sofia Menyalkin on the team this summer! She did a phenomenal job at The Prop and brought so much to her work with us. It’s such a privilege to get to work with University of New Hampshire students through our internship program. A huge shout out to all of the incredible PPAF interns who helped to make this 50th anniversary season that much more special. Thank you for all of your hard work!
From pricing strategy to 'Bend and Snap' churros, this internship has it all. Analytical economics major Sofia Menyalkin '25 let us tag along for an evening in her life as a management intern with Prescott Park Arts Festival in Portsmouth, NH! 🎭 💬 Read Sofia's take on her internship experience... I'm helping run the show at a nonprofit arts festival this summer! We're all about making music and arts more inclusive and accessible to the general public. My main job: directing the whole team at The Prop, which serves all kinds of food to festival patrons. It's definitely been a crash course in management - keeping everyone on track, handling the rush of orders, and making sure our customers leave happy. And the Prop isn't just a food stand - it's the main revenue driver for Prescott Park Arts Festival. Talk about real-world impact! My UNH classes definitely prepared me for this mix of Excel spreadsheets and people: 🏷️ Creating pricing strategies (thanks, Econ 401!) 🧾 Analyzing sales data 👆Managing day-to-day operations 💕 Providing great customer service! I love the autonomy. I have a lot of control over how we do things! And seeing how that plays out sales-wise has been really interesting. And yes, I got to invent the "Bend and Snap" churro sticks for Legally Blonde! Who said economics majors can't be creative? 🎬 I've also learned a lot about juggling priorities – you need both people skills and business background for a job like this. But my biggest takeaway has been that I love the cause. This internship has shown me I can blend analytics with purpose-driven work. Living in Portsmouth for the summer has been amazing. I'm discovering a whole new side of the Seacoast. The festival is already looking for their next intern, so let me plug them real quick. If you want something that's close to campus, fun, AND great experience, you should reach out! You'll gain real-world experience while supporting local arts. What could be better? Honestly, I never expected to love working at a nonprofit arts festival this much. But between the analytics, the creativity, and the awesome community impact, I'm having a blast. UNH Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics