Lauren Jindrich

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My name is Lauren, and I interned for Paddington Arts during June and July. I am 20 years old, and am a university student studying communications and history. I am from a rural area of Kentucky, so London was a big shift from what I am used to.

Coming to Paddington Arts for my first day, I was consumed by a mixture of anxiety and excitement, that feeling that you get when you’re about to try something that will push you out of your comfort zone. Although a week and a half in London had taught me how to get around on the tube and which shops have the cheapest meal deals, I was yet to understand the work culture in the city. I had had several internships in America, but felt like they had not done much to prepare me for this experience.

However, after walking through the doors of Paddington Arts, I found integration into the office to be smooth. Every person I encountered was kind and open to explaining whatever I asked. Additionally, it was easier than I anticipated to pick on the culture and workplace expectations.

Steve was pleasant to speak with, and seemed genuinely interested in me and my thoughts on the topics that I would be writing about and researching. From the beginning, he made an effort to incorporate my skills and goals into the work. For example, he knew that I had past experience with photography, and suggested that I take photos for a show put on by Paddington Arts. This is something that I have not experienced through my past internships in America, which has made me really cherish having it here.

The main objective during the internship was writing articles about topics that I found interesting in London. The internship allowed for freedom, individualisation, and flexibility, all which are conducive for creativity. Although the lack of structure was initially daunting, I enjoyed having an outlet to express my thoughts and feelings about London and the differences that I observed from America. As the internship progressed, I found myself feeling more creative and able to express my thoughts through written form.

Ashlyn Short

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In the summer of 2022, I participated in an internship study abroad program with my university. I study Performing Arts and Communications, so I was really looking for an internship that gave me experience in both areas. At Paddington Arts, I have had the opportunity to write content for the new Paddington Arts intern blog. Before arriving in London, a resource like the one I’ve been working on would’ve helped me so much, and I’m excited to give advice to other people studying abroad. I love getting to share what I’ve learned during my time here!

Coming from a smaller town in the US, the idea of working in a big city like London was really nerve-wracking for me, but once I arrived at the Paddington office, I felt so welcome, which made the transition a lot easier. I had a lot of creative freedom with the project I worked on, which was such an amazing privilege that I don’t think interns get too often. Steve allowed me to write about what I felt was important, and I got to write about what I love about theatre and London, which made this job feel a lot less like work. 

During my time at Paddington Arts, I’ve grown more confident in my writing and photography, and I’ve developed an interest in theatre education just being surrounded by the students. I was able to watch a performance and talk to a few students about what they loved about Paddington Arts, and they all said that their favorite part about coming to class is being able to express their emotions freely. The work Paddington Arts does for this community has such a positive impact on these kids, and I’m grateful to have been a part of it.

Elspeth Singleton

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For my year 12 work experience in July 2019 I came to Paddington Arts. I was looking for experience in journalism and research as this is something I am interested in doing in the future. The school recommended Paddington Arts, which I have to admit I had never heard of. However, after researching and taking a look at their website, I soon found out about their media projects, which intrigued me. I also found that Paddington Arts had a performing arts focus, which, being a dancer myself, made me even more certain that I wanted to do my work experience there.

A month before my work experience started, I had an interview with Steve Shaw, the Director of Paddington Arts. He was extremely welcoming and was interested in what I enjoyed and what I was looking for. He briefly explained the campaign that I would be working on, #letsdancenotfight, which aims to promote youth dance across London whilst making a stand against against intolerance, hatred and violence, especially knife crime. This immediately intrigued me as I had plenty of experience in dance and I also kept up with current affairs so I knew a little about the increase in knife crime in London. Steve had sold it to me and I couldn’t wait to get started!

On the first day, I met the other person from my school doing work experience there and then we got right into it. I researched organisations that were campaigning against knife crime, and I found some really interesting statistics on knife crime in London. Then, I was slightly taken aback when Steve asked us to help set up the theatre for the upcoming show. I have to admit I have no experience in backstage theatre and it wasn’t what I expected, however it was a challenge and I was up for it. I actually really enjoyed it, even though it was hard work. We met the other staff at Paddington Arts, who were friendly and welcoming and helped us get to grips with what we were doing. We then got to watch rehearsals for the annual show – I was amazed at how amazing the young people were!

During my time at Paddington Arts I wrote an article about the annual show and the campaign #letsdancenotfight. I got in touch with the CEO of the Ben Kinsella Trust and interviewed some of the young people at Paddington Arts, and asked questions on knife crime and youth violence which would go on to help me write my article. It was a really interesting article as it was not a topic I had researched in depth before and I found myself becoming more intrigued as I researched more and more.

We worked amongst a company called YouPress, who support young people to write creatively and bring their work to a wider audience. They made us feel very welcome and gave the place a professional feeling, which I enjoyed as it gave me a taste of what the workplace would be like. I ended up writing a blog post for their website, focusing on how to cope with the stress of teenage years, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Overall, my time at Paddington Arts was extremely useful. I came to Paddington Arts having a vague idea of what I wanted to do post-A Levels, but I left with a much more definitive idea that journalism was the route I wanted to take, all thanks to the experience I gained during my two weeks at Paddington Arts. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in media or journalism!

Priya Shah

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I came to Paddington Arts as part of my year 12-work experience in July 2017. For my work experience I wanted the opportunity to do something creative, in order to bring out my inner drive and my school had recommended Paddington Arts to me. I had done a little research and saw how they offered performance arts for young kids, which wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but I knew I wanted to do something outside my comfort zone, as it would help guide me and let me decide what career path I would potentially want to go down.

A few weeks before my work experience started I, along with a fellow classmate, had an interview with the Director of Paddington Arts, Steve Shaw, he was very welcoming and had asked us several questions, such as what our aspirations were for the future to come. He then moved on to guide us through the type of work we would be doing during our time at Paddington Arts, describing the ‘London Project’. The London Project consisted of taking a couple of images around London of our favourite places; I insistently had a list of many in mind! With these pictures I got the opportunity to test out my photography skills and they weren’t too shabby, I had also written my opinions of the places and as to why I like and chose to add them to my project. I had chosen 6 topics, such as the cinemas, Hyde Park, Kingly Court and so on. I had managed to finish the project within two days, so I did an essay about the good and bad things in London, as part of my own opinion. After finishing the essay, Steve had given me the task to write a story based on anything to do with London, so I had basically decided to write a novel called The Devil’s Game, because why not!

Throughout the work experience, I was working amongst a company called YouPress, which is a social enterprise run by volunteers and creative artists, supporting young writers and poets to develop themselves and bringing them to a wider audience. The director of YouPress, Farah, had also made me feel welcome and it was a very friendly environment to work within. He gave me an opportunity to help volunteer, as I love to write about issues on current affairs and have my voice heard. If I had not come to Paddington Arts I may not have had the opportunity to get me a step further towards my future.

Overall, my time at Paddington Arts was actually a lot more helpful than I thought it would be, as I had gotten the chance to explore one of my hidden hobbies, which is writing! I am very grateful for the opportunity given to me and would not take back a second of it!

Shirali Patil

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In year 12, I had the opportunity to do work experience at Paddington Arts. A week before my work experience took place, a fellow student from my school and I went down to Paddington Arts and met the Director Steve Shaw who asked us a few questions about the subjects we take subjects and our aspirations.

The first day at Paddington Arts was exciting as we were working on a project called My London by young people for young people. We were taken to the Digital Newsroom where we met some interns from a young enterprise group called You Press, they were all very friendly and had a convincing set of opinions that they were passionate about.

The My London project consisted of me writing about fifteen of my favorite places in London as well as taking pictures of each location. The first thing I did was research, a whole lot of it. It was incredibly important to get the facts right, so that if anyone actually visited these locations they had an idea of what it was like before actually visiting. Creating a homepage for the website was my favorite part; it took me nine different drafts until I was pleased with the overall aesthetic and achieved the perfect homepage for my website.

After I had finished the first project, I was then asked to write an article about my opinion of London, my likes, dislikes etc. This was something that I wasn’t quite fond of (writing articles that is), however to my surprise I enjoyed writing it. This was because I was able to add my sarcastic wit and talk about all the awful things London has to offer such as it weather. But don’t worry; I also included the many things I love about London the variety of festivals London holds. During the second week I wrote a short story. The only was to describe it is…dark. Yes I wrote a story about a serial killer who kills his victims for hiding their flaws or worse, lying about them, called The Knife in the Sink. I wrote the story in a time span of two days. I was heavily influenced by a TV show I previously watched and loved, which made the process a whole lot easier.

Now to my favorite part of my experience, creating a photo book. This was extremely enjoyable as I am passionate about photography. The photo book included around thirty pictures I had taken as well as a brief description about each image. Putting the photo book together was the hardest part; I ended up with eight different variations before I was pleased with the results. However when it came together I was extremely pleased and excited to see it published in real life as kindly Steve offered to print it for me.

Overall, my time at Paddington Arts has been very excitable and enjoyable. I found new elements within the creative field that I would have never imagined enjoying at all, such as writing articles. Moreover through this I have discovered a wonderful platform where young people are given a chance to share their voice, which has given me a chance to share my photography along with sensitive current issues.

 

Lyndsey Kincaid

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Throughout my time in London, the city has really grown on me and I’ve come to imagine myself possibly living and working here. Not only do I love all that the city has to offer, but there’s so many things and places that are opened to explore.

Now that my time in London is coming to an end, I reflect on my experience. Prior to finding out my internship through my study abroad program, I didn’t know what to expect. However, once I showed up at Paddington Arts for my interview, which lasted for 2 hours, I knew that I could expect to enjoy my seven weeks interning for the organization. Fortunately, I’ve had the best of both worlds during my time here in London. Through my program I had the opportunity to take classes during the first seven weeks, and do a great deal of traveling during the weekends. And in the last seven weeks I had the privilege of experiencing what it’s like to work in the city of London.

During my time at Paddington Arts, I worked along side the recently founded social enterprise, YouPress. Throughout the weeks I assisted in brainstorming strategies to bring more attraction to YouPress and their new writing platform, ScribersHive. Besides strategizing, I also had the opportunity to grow as a writer by writing numerous articles for ScribersHive. I was inspired to step outside of my comfortzone and to try out different styles of writing while also advance my creativity and come up with various topics to write about.

I was drawn to Paddington Arts and YouPress because of their mission to support the youth to get their voice out and to voice their opinions whether it be through the arts, such as dancing, singing, acting, or whether it’s through writing because words have an immense amount of power. These organizations have inspired me to not only use my gift as a writer to better and positively influence others, but to also get out there and get involved in more organizations like them.

Leaving London is a bittersweet moment. Although I’m elated to return home to my family and friends, I’m really going to miss this amazing city and the people who I have met so far. I’ve found that people are very welcoming and friendly, in terms of my internship and just traveling, and I’m going to miss that. However, I know after this experience that I will be back. I’m beyond grateful to have worked with Paddington Arts and YouPress. It’s always rewarding to contribute in two organizations that are focused on making a positive change in the world.

Lyndsey Kincaid

Will

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My time at Paddington Arts by Will Stanton, age 17

In year 12 my school gives us the opportunity to do work experience, this is because when it comes to university applications it looks very good. There were many different placements but a lot of them consisted of working at some un-heard of bank somewhere in the middle of God only knows where. As an arts student I wanted something subject appropriate and Paddington Arts was the one that I chose out of the different options.
I eventually had an interview to make sure I wasn’t a lunatic or anything. I arrived at Paddington Arts and was met by the Director Steve Shaw who asked me a few questions about my subjects and aspirations. He then showed me around the building and introduced me to a few faces I would be working with. The interview happened on the 3rd of March and I didn’t start my work experience until the 5th of July gave me a lot of time to research Paddington Arts and see what it was all about.
The month’s passed and as any normal job I was mildly nervous for the first day but also very excited to get started. We began by setting up Apple Macs and Steve showed us the Facebook page and the Youth arts page. We were given many tasks over the first week that included making posters, editing videos, conducting interviews, doing photo-shoots. But for me personally, the second week was when I really got into the work though.
Paddington arts had prepared a show called “Street Life” which was a dance, photography and spoken word based show with the theme of “Street”. The spoken word part of the show was a Play called “The tale of the red balloon” and it turned out that two of the original cast had dropped out, so remembering my interest in acting, Steve came to me and asked if I wanted to be in it. I decided that even though it wasn’t what I had planned on doing, that it was actually the area in which I would like to go into. I said yes and took up the role as a teacher and an ensemble member. Thursday at about 5 o’clock the rest of the cast arrived and I was roped into the show. I tried to get all my lines down as quickly as I could so not to be a burden. I was introduced to the Director Amarni who was very passionate about theatre and whom I very much enjoyed working with. We had until Wednesday to get the whole show sorted which didn’t just include the acting but also incorporating the dances and the photography. The cast sacrificed our daytime on the Tuesday and Wednesday and came in at 12\1 to make sure that we all knew what was going on. The writer of the play (Maxwell Golden) came in and very much helped us all understand our characters on a more emotional level to get the most from our performances. Wednesday night came with the first performance and there was an air of nerves chilling the entire cast, dances and directors included. The first show went without a hitch and simply made me more excited for the second and third show.
The second show was good; I had two friends and my Dad in the audience, which spurred me on. During one of the carnival dance scenes one of the dance directors told myself and my fellow cast members to go on and “improvise”, which was extremely tiring but also very fun.
The final show is coming up and I’m excited but also sad as the show marks the end of my time at Paddington Arts. It has been an amazing experience and an opportunity I couldn’t have wished for. Everyone was welcoming and the whole cast made me feel really a part of it all. I’m extremely grateful for everything that has been thrown my way and I’m happy I picked Paddington Arts.

Amar

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My time at Paddington Arts

I started my time at Paddington Arts at the start of July 2016. In Yr 12 my school requires all students to par take in work experience. Having been told about an art centre I applied for the position however they specified they were looking for someone who was creative. Then having applied we were offered an interview on March where I was offered a two week placement the start of July.

On my first day my we were given a work station in the Pyramid room and where me and two other people from my school. To work we were given to Mac computers to work from. For the majority of the day we were left to get to grips with using these computers and getting everything set up. Once this was accomplished we were tasked to make an alternative poster design to Paddington Arts upcoming production ’Street Life’ – The tale of the red balloon using inspiration from the existing design.

Over the remaining days we were given many tasks which helped develop skills and taught us new ones such as conducting interviews, writing a transcript, street photography. However on the Friday I was given the opportunity to edit a compilation of footage from a local primary school about an art week that their school was hosting. I continued to do this until the next week Tuesday were the production took of as that was the opening week of the production.

Overall i found the second week to be more enjoyable than the first as I felt that there was more integration with the with staff and youths that were working at Paddington Arts. In addition the combined effort of everyone committing to the up coming production the result felt more rewarding than completing the smaller tasks in the previous week. On the final day I helped one of the directors Steve film the production so that the footage could be used to show off the production and to help show people who didn’t work on it the effort and the time involved and how an idea became something interesting and complex.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Paddington Arts and I feel it that I have gained and learned a lot that you wouldn’t be able to learn in a classroom environment such as time management, making decisive decisions while under pressure, and performing efficiently to meet deadlines. I feel like very grateful for the opportunity and I am thankful for everything that I have learnt including some new skills related to acting such as stage positioning, body language, and how to amplify the sound of your voice even if you are naturally shy.

Paddington Arts is a wonderful place full of opportunity that has a very friendly and supportive environment that encourages positivity. It truly feels like a little community. If given the oppertunity to work her again as an Intern/work experience or full time I would.

By Amar Singh Perihar, age 17

Kalli Damschen

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I fell in love with London when I was seven years old and 5,000 miles (or 8,000 kilometers) away from the city.

I’d just finished reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (since apparently us Americans wouldn’t want to read a book with the word “philosopher” in the title), and although I lived alongside the snowy mountains of Utah in the western United States, my mind was full with dreams of King’s Cross Station and double-decker buses and treacle tart. I was barely old enough to fathom life in a foreign country an entire ocean away, but I already dreamed of the day I’d travel to England.

As the years went on, other authors from Jane Austen to J.R.R. Tolkien only provided me with more reasons to long for England, and when I was presented with the opportunity to spend four months studying and working in London, I was ecstatic. Not only would I get to see the places that had shaped some of the stories that changed my life, but I would also have the chance to gain experience through an internship—an ideal opportunity, since I’m a novelist who aspires to a career in publishing or journalism, two fields which both emphasise the importance of work experience in addition to a university education.

This is the road that led me to Paddington Arts, where I’ve spent the last two months writing for Youth Arts Online while lending a hand around the office.

My time in London, both in and out of the workplace, has helped me learn and grow in so many ways. I’ve seen incredible aspects of history and culture. I’ve adapted to life in a different culture, where people are confused when I use the words “college” and “university” interchangeably and give me strange looks if I say “fall” instead of “autumn.” I’ve had the opportunity to speak with some incredibly talented young artists for Youth Arts Online, and I’ve expanded my writing portfolio with all my articles for the website.

Although I’m excited to get home to Utah for the holidays, where I’ll have a white Christmas surrounded by the family and friends I’ve missed over the last four months, I know I’m going to mourn London once I’ve left. In fact, I’ll probably spend the entirety of the holidays crying into a cup of tea by the fireside while eating ridiculously overpriced imported Jaffa Cakes from the one, little British shop in my hometown. Though I already know it will be hard to move on from my experiences in London, I’m so grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given this term—for the people I’ve met, and the places I’ve gone, and the things I’ve done.

I’ve learned about the differences between a British and an American office, and I’ve learned how to write in British English (though deleting my Oxford commas always kills me inside!). I’ve learned to be confident, even when stepping outside my comfort zone, to find where I belong 5,000 miles away from everything I know, and I couldn’t have done it without Paddington Arts.

 

 

Cassie Jones, 19, Minnesota, USA

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Cassie Jones copyComing to London from Minnesota was definitely an overwhelming experience. It might not have been for someone who lives in or around Minneapolis/ St. Paul, the two largest cities in the state, but I come from the smaller and more spread out town of Duluth, MN. In Duluth, we not only have the biggest lake on earth and loads of green space, but we also don’t deal with things like “rush hour” or crowds, so London was insanely overwhelming when I first arrived. In fact, for a long time I hated it!
I just didn’t feel like it was the right place for me and I didn’t fit in, so that was the biggest hurdle I had to overcome in these four months I’ve been here. It took a lot of time to let go and get used to my surroundings and find the beauty in things, but slowly things got better, and since I came to Paddington Arts to write for Youth Arts Online, everything has been great. The city grew on me and I have grown to appreciate all the history and diversity it offers. It still amazes me to hear four different languages at the same time on the tube, and to get off the tube and be in a place that looks and feels completely different from any other part of London while still being a part of the city. I will miss more those kinds of things more than ever when I go home.
I think this experience has taught me a lot about myself as well. Not only have I immersed myself in the culture and learned how to adapt to a new environment, but also I learned how to trust in myself and how to be confident and optimistic from this experience. My parents have played a big role in allowing this change to happen. They have been so respectful and trusting of my decisions and my boundaries and they have not held me back from doing anything. For example, two weeks after arriving in the UK, I was already off on my first trip all alone to Spain. After I told them I was going by myself, I was worried that they would be mad I was going alone, but they were so supportive and positive about it that I was amazed at their respect and their desire to let me be responsible and independent. This trust they allow me to have has forced me to trust my own decisions and be confident in what I do, and I am now so independent and feel more like an adult than ever. It’s been quite a transformation.
By the end of this trip I will have seen 29 cities in 14 different countries around Europe, learned the ins and outs of public transportation in London, travelled by myself, learned great packing skills, had an international internship, experienced my first (normal) spring ever, made plenty of mistakes, learned so much from those mistakes, and completely fallen in love with Europe for a second time. I know I will be back in the future, whenever that may be.
If there’s any advice that I could give to anyone who is considering or dreaming of doing something like this in the future, I would have to say just go for it and trust in yourself because taking risks and doing new things is the most rewarding thing you could do, and I know you will not regret it. You will grow just as much as I have and you will be thankful for every experience you have, even the negative moments, because they will make you a better person in the end.
I can’t say I won’t miss it, because I have fallen in love with traveling and seeing new things, but I am so excited to be going home and seeing family and friends and Minnesota once again. It’s been a long and overwhelming four months, but I will never forget it.