Time Flies: July & August with DITA

Every summer, we look away for a moment and suddenly our cohort of interns has gone from shy college students to arts & culture nonprofit professionals. (Ok, full disclosure, Cohort Number Severn was never shy!) Though it happens like clockwork, this transformation never loses its magic. Here's a look back at a few moments throughout the summer where we watched the interns grow into the future leaders of our sector.

Letterpress workshop with Rick Griffith

Interns Juni (left) and Erin (right) celebrate a successful print with Rick (center)

If you're a pro-diversity Denverite, chances are that you're already familiar with The Shop at MATTER, Rick Griffith, and the "racist stapler" poster series. Our interns got to step into Griffith's letterpress workshop for the afternoon on July 18 to create their own posters, from brainstorming statements to pulling prints on the press.

(From left) Rick shows Mai, Nia, and Emi the printing press

Griffith also facilitated discussion about staying true to oneself when entering the workforce, reminding the interns, "it shouldn't cost you everything to say 'no.' " He also reminded interns that arts and culture workers are deeply needed in the world, telling them, "we need to invest in your creativity to find way better answers for the future." We think a future lead by DITA alumni is definitely in the right hands!

Intern Graduation!

Cohort Number Seven shows off their bucket hats at graduation

On August 9, interns gathered together at Lighthouse Writers Workshop along with supervisors and the DITA team to celebrate the end of their internships with a graduation ceremony. Each intern gave a short presentation detailing their experience: lessons learned, skills gained, connections forged. At the end, they were each rewarded with a certificate celebrating their completion of the program, and a DITA bucket hat! Here are some highlights that they shared:

• Mai learned how to write a check, and many other nonprofit skills while interning at Rocky Mountain Highway

• Sila felt seen in a workplace environment with a majority Latinx staff team at Museo de las Americas

• Juni overcame his fear of working a real adult job at the Denver Botanic Gardens and completed amazing projects, like a chart of what's in bloom each month

• Nia got a hands-on experience of what it's like to work in arts administration at Colorado Creative Industries

• Emi surprised herself with her own hidden abilities at Groundworks Art Lab

• Erin networked, made friends, and pushed past their comfort zone at Levitt Pavilion

• Maya experienced the power of storytelling at Historic Denver's Molly Brown House Museum

• Margaret learned how public art installation differs from curating in a gallery space at Downtown Colorado Springs Creative District

• Victoria affirmed their love for writing and sharing the joy of writing with others at Lighthouse Writers Workshop

• Fariah practiced creating content and other avenues for an arts career at Center for Visual Art MSU Denver

• Alicia gave herself permission to ditch the "starving artist" stereotype and reach for the stars at Opera Colorado

We're sending big gratitude and love to Cohort Seven for making this an incredible summer, and we look forward to watching them grow as creative leaders in the years ahead. In the meantime, we're already gearing up for next year. Applications to host a DITA intern during Summer 2026 open in just under a month! Check our website for a calendar and FAQs so that you can get ready to ace your application.

Interns show off their freshly pulled prints outside The Shop at MATTER

Thanks for sticking with DITA this year and beyond. ✨