Project Details
Hiring Manager: Evelyn De Jesus-Quiles, Director of Operations and Administrative Affairs
Total Hours: 195
Project Stipend: $4875
Project Overview
The Montclair Literary Festival is a vibrant, community-wide event that connects arts institutions, schools, and local organizations to exchange ideas, inspire literary creation, and celebrate diverse viewpoints. In partnership with Montclair Public Library, Watchung Booksellers, local volunteers, and Montclair State University’s “Express Yourself” series, the festival promises to generate lasting community impact. Our proposed project aims to leverage this event as a dynamic learning environment where a graduate intern will gain hands- on experience in project management, digital media creation, event planning, and communications, while enhancing the festival’s reach and effectiveness.
This project not only enhances the community impact of the Montclair Literary Festival but also provides our graduate intern with critical, hands-on experience in a real-world setting. By integrating academic expertise with community engagement, the initiative reinforces our commitment to educational innovation and local cultural development.
Project Goals and Objectives
- Event Support & Coordination: The intern will assist with pre-event planning and on-site coordination for the Saturday event on April 26. Tasks include liaising with partner organizations, coordinating logistics, and supporting the planning of engaging digital media content to promote the festival.
- Digital Media & Communications: The graduate intern will develop promotional materials and social media content to ensure that the festival’s themes and community impact are widely communicated. The graduate intern will additionally support digital media and communications campaigns within the CHSS Deans’ Office to highlight student experiential learning.
- Survey Design & Evaluation: During the event, the intern will assess attendance and capacity of events and employ initiatives to collect attendee contact information to build a listserv for future promotion. Following the event, the intern will design and deploy a comprehensive survey to capture guest feedback, assess event impact, and gather recommendations for future initiatives. Data analysis from survey responses will inform improvements for Montclair State’s role and contribution to subsequent festivals.
- Professional Development: The project is designed to offer a real-world application of project management, communication, event management, and qualitative research contributing directly to the intern’s professional growth and enhancing their portfolio.
Key Deliverables
- Support on-site event management
- Ensure smooth implementation communication strategies
- Finalize and administer the guest survey
- Analyze survey results and compile a final report
- Present findings and recommendations to the festival team