Spotlight: Joshua Agunos, YA Intern

Welcome Joshua Agunos! 

Young Audiences Intern from High Tech High Chula Vista

Tell us a bit about you.

I'm seventeen years old and a junior at High Tech High.  I love being outdoors, some of my earliest memories are hiking and biking Cowles Mountain and Chollas Lake with my dad.  I was born and raised in San Diego.  I love the sunshine and feel like this is the town I was meant to be in.

Tell us a passion of yours.

I love working with kids.  I feel like working with kids brings out the child in me.   We are forced to grow up so fast, and by working with kids we remember the joys of childhood.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I want to be an artist.  I say artist because there are so many different art forms that I am interested in.  I want to discover more about it.  Right now I really love singing and acting.  I also want to be an activist.  I want to learn to combine being an activist with being an artist.    I believe that the arts can change the world and I want to leave the world a better place then when I got here.

Why did you choose YA for your internship?

It is a perfect fit for what I want to experience as a professional.  I worked on a project recently where I wrote a children's book and discovered that I loved working with kids.  I love working in theatre, this past year I performed with the high school theatre in the "Laramie Project" and "You Could Die Laughing," and over the summer I performed with the Golden Garter theatre company performing, "Twi-Lite".  This seemed a great way to work in a field that combined both my interests, the arts and kids.

I also love the cause.  With arts disappearing in schools, the work Young Audiences does is so important.  I wanted to be a part of something meaningful and this is a cause I can get behind.

What have you done while working at YA?

I have sent out email blasts, called parents to inform them about events like scholarships and film festivals, volunteered at an art fair and I was a photographer at the scholarship event.  There have been several impromptu tasks that have kept me active, inspired, and engaged.  I especially love working with the National City Theatre Youth Ensemble.  I get to work with kids, help them with their work, and see it all come together.   Tonight is their opening festival and I am looking forward to it.  This has been a very diverse internship, and I love that.

Josh with NCTYE Students 

How will you continue the work you have begun here at YA?

I feel like there are so many directions my life can take and art especially can take you anywhere.  The idea of perfecting your craft as an artist and then using that knowledge to teach others is very interesting to me.  I love the idea of working as a teaching artist.

Anything else you want to say?

If you are thinking about an internship for you or your child you should come here.  It does take a certain kind of person to work here- you have to have patience to work with kids, know how to get the job done, and you have to be selfless.  It's not really about you.  It's about the kids and their work.  This is so rewarding, being able to help others and promote something so important.

If you want this internship, you have to step up.  But it is well worth it!

Josh has infused our offices with his light, laughter, and youthful spirit.  We are so thrilled to have spent the past three weeks with him.  He has one week left of his internship and we keep trying to figure out how we can get him back with us.  Thank you Josh.  Here's a cute video.