Jessica Wojcinski
Jessica Wojcinski 鈥�16, a music business major, interned during spring 2014 at Colegio Esclavas de Maria, a Catholic school in Valencia, Spain.
She helped the music teacher, observed classes and choir rehearsals, and performed at a charity event. She is a beginner at learning Spanish, and the students haven鈥檛 had much practice using the English they鈥檝e studied, so communication was challenging but slowly improved. She was the only American there and the students were fascinated by American culture.
鈥淏eing in Spain and taking on this internship put me way outside my comfort zone, really forcing me to fend for myself and be independent,鈥� Wojcinski emailed from Spain. 鈥淥n the first day, I had to figure out how to navigate a foreign city by myself to get to the internship site, and I still got there early (by foot and train). I manage to communicate with teachers and faculty, for the most part, and make meaningful connections with the students through music. I stay connected to the internship faculty at Nazareth and constantly make sure I鈥檓 fulfilling the internship requirements. Without the crutch of security and familiarity that I have at Nazareth, I鈥檝e really realized how capable I am of being successful on my own.鈥�
One surprise gave her a new international perspective on music performance skills. When Wojcinski sang and accompanied herself on piano at the school鈥檚 fundraising event to support poor Guatemalan children, the crowd went wild. One teacher complimented her later. 鈥淗e said he had never seen someone so young perform so professionally with such easy stage presence,鈥� the sophomore said. 鈥淚n the United States, if you want to 鈥榤ake it鈥� in the music industry, you have to be that good at a young age, or better. It was really eye-opening because at home, I鈥檓 a little fish in a big pond. In Spain, as a musician, I would be a big fish in a little pond of people who can perform really well at a young age.鈥�
At the charity event, she was called back onstage as some of the students shyly took the microphone to thank her in English.
鈥淓ven though we couldn鈥檛 communicate very well, we communicated through music,鈥� Wojcinski wrote on her blog. 鈥淲hich sounds cheesy, but it truly made me realize how music can unite people from all different cultures, races, religions, etc. in a powerful, meaningful way.鈥�
