Amanda Birkenhauer

Work experience

University of South Carolina - Darla Moore School of Business

• Director, Business Study Abroad

Coordinates faculty-led study abroad and regional programs in the Darla Moore School of Business. Supports partner institutions and vendors to develop new undergraduate and graduate study abroad opportunities. Assures compliance with University standards and policies and procedures.

• Administrative Coordinator

Face to Face Language School

• English Teacher

Face-to-Face Language School, based in Qingdao China, was established in June 2009. The school believes having a mixture of classroom based learning, a weekly salon class as well as an online review allows students to maximize his or her English potential.

As an English teacher, I was responsible for teaching Chinese learners of English from kindergarten level up to adults. My goal was to help students improve their English in a fun and imaginative manner, using the most modern and successful teaching methods. I successfully increased weekend classes offered and grew student enrollment size and retention. Throughout my employment, I created and updated content for the after school website, which increased website traffic and utilization. As I proved to be a reliable, hardworking employee, I was given the role of managing the weekend Salon classes by directing teacher assistants, allocating students to respective classrooms based on English level, and acting as the representative for the headmaster when presented with parent and guardian inquiries.

City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department

• Arts Management Intern

The Cultural Arts Department was created by the North Charleston City Council in 1979 to plan for and support the arts and cultural activities throughout the community. It strives to provide programs and services that enhance the quality of life for its citizens and assist in the economic development of North Charleston as a desirable place to live and visit.

As a Arts Management Intern for the Cultural Arts Department, I aided in the program development of the 2012 North Charleston Arts Festival. I helped type and edit copy for various applications, marketing materials, press, and artist contracts. I worked with staff on the planning and implementation of the Arts Festival as well as on-going programs. I performed general administrative tasks such as data entry, mailings, record keeping, and filing. I collected and organized data on various programs. I also assisted with the distribution of promotional materials, corporate sponsor development, and volunteer coordination for the Arts Festival. In addition to attending weekly staff meetings, I also served as staff for various North Charleston Arts Festival events.

College of Charleston

• Graduate Assistant for the Arts Management Program

The College of Charleston is one of the few schools in the Southeast and the only school in South Carolina to offer undergraduate study with a major and a minor in Arts Management and Administration. The Program also offers an Arts Management concentration as part of the Graduate School’s Masters of Public Administration and a Graduate Certificate which focuses on preparing arts managers to meet the ever-changing demands placed on cultural institutions.

As the Graduate Assistant for the Arts Management Program I formatted and edited internship evaluations, graduate school questionnaires, and employer reviews for faculty and staff. I stocked and ordered office supplies and equipment, purchased faculty book requests, and copied class lecture materials. I updated social media, developed a blog site with weekly updates using WordPress, and responded to student and faculty email. I also created an ongoing alumni database by collecting and imputing data obtained from various sources that is still being utilized today.

Redux Contemporary Art Center

• Arts Management Intern

Redux Contemporary Art Center is a nonprofit organization committed to fostering creativity and the cultivation of contemporary art through diverse exhibitions, subsidized studio space for visual artists, meaningful education programs, and a multidisciplinary approach to the dialogue between artists and their audiences.

As an Arts Management Intern, I assisted the Executive Director and Director of Development in maintaining and developing all programming. I aided in membership data entry, entering payment information, maintained working lists of seasonal class sign-ups, and partook in the shopping and purchasing of listed materials for adult and youth art classes. I performed necessary tasks such as website maintenance, answering phones, welcoming visitors to exhibitions on display, logging and documenting donated art for annual art auction fundraiser, and distributed Redux promotional material. Furthermore, I installed and prepared visual arts exhibitions, including packing/unpacking works of art, painting, calking, hanging, and adjusting lighting.

Education

• College of Charleston Graduate School/ The Graduate School at the University of South Carolina MPA Public Administration, Arts Management Graduate Certificate

• College of Charleston Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Latin American and Caribbean Studies

AWARDS:

• Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science Honor Society), 2010
• 2010 First Place Recipient of Pi Sigma Alpha Essay Regarding Urbanization and Urban Geography