Summer Kids Camp Golden Leaf Intern

Make lives meaningful through making.

Who We Are

Penland School of Craft is an international center for craft education offering residential workshops, residencies, community education programs, and exhibitions. Located on 420 acres in the NC Mountains, Penland has 16 teaching studios and 60 historic and contemporary buildings. We are an equal-opportunity employer with a staff of 50+. Penland operates with a $54 million endowment and an annual operating budget of $8.4 million. We are located about an hour northeast of Asheville, NC. 

Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

At Penland School of Craft, we believe that fostering a climate of equity, inclusion, diversity, and antiracism are essential to our work. We are committed to creating a campus community free of discrimination, and we welcome everyone who supports this commitment. 

Black, Indigenous, Latine, Asian, and other people who identify as people of color or BIPOC individuals are encouraged to apply, as are people holding other marginalized identities related to gender, sexual orientation, ability, and class background.

Internship Summary 

Interns must apply through the Golden Leaf Foundation at, https://scholars.goldenleaf.org/rii/#Scholars. Requirements include attending a participating North Carolina community college or university and residing in qualifying counties. Deadline to apply is 2/19/2026.

A Penland internship provides a unique opportunity to live and work in a dynamic, creative educational community, collaborating with accomplished professionals in a mutually beneficial learning and knowledge-sharing environment. 

Penland’s primary programming is offering 1-2, 6, and 8-week intensive educational workshops to adults throughout the year. Uniquely, in the summer months, Penland hosts an 8-week summer camp for youth from our local rural community. This program serves youth ages 3-17 in two two-week-long half-day and full-day formats, as well as weekend teen workshops. We bring in highly experienced teaching artists along with our permanent year-round community teaching staff to instruct these camp sessions. You will work with and support approximately 10 teaching artists over the course of the summer camp season, experiencing a diverse range of teaching styles, techniques, and instructional approaches across various artistic areas. If interested, teaching projects can be developed to present in our local community programs or to participating students.

Additionally, you will have access to community events during the summer, offering opportunities to engage with national and international teaching artists who lead workshops for our adult programming.  This includes artist slide presentations, resident open houses, workshop show-and-tells, and scholarship auctions. 

This experience begins in late May and concludes in mid-August, during which you can expect to work up to 400 hours. The position is full-time (approximately 35-40 hours/week) and is managed by the Community Collaborations Program Coordinator.

We ask that interns reside in approved counties within a 30-minute drive of Penland (Yancey, Avery, and Mitchell counties would work best). 

Key Responsibilities/Duties:

Before and after the camp season:

• Work with the program coordinator to prepare the classrooms and playground before the season begins.
• Finalize paperwork and photo documentation before leaving for the season.

Daily Tasks

• Report to the classroom 30 minutes before the start of camp each day to assist with set up.
• Welcome students and manage the daily check-in and check-out process.
• Assisted with camp activities as guided by the instructors and the program coordinator.
• Prepare, serve, and clean up after snacks.
• Work during lunch when all-day camp is in session. A box lunch will be provided.
• Share clean-up tasks with instructors at the end of each day. These include washing dishes, emptying compost, wiping tables, sanitizing surfaces in bathrooms, and sweeping floors.
• Occasional kiln monitoring outside of camp hours during clay camps.

Weekly Tasks

• Conduct a brief instructor orientation on Sunday or Monday before each camp begins.
• Manage the first aid kits and student emergency folders.
• Monitor the playground hazards (ie. wasps/bees, poison ivy, etc.)
• Photograph camp activities and upload images.
• Collect student evaluations and enter their responses in a spreadsheet.

Qualifications

• Love working with children and have the ability to nurture a fun and positive camp environment. Prefer one year of experience working with children, preferably with a range of ages.
• Coursework in the field of education and/or a strong interest in the arts is preferred.
• Ability to successfully attend to an individual child’s needs while also keeping an eye on the group.
• Ability to be diplomatic and maintain composure with a diverse group of children with varying needs.
• Ability to work both collaboratively and independently.
• Strong communication skills and flexibility with changing needs.
• Spanish speaking is a plus.
• Strong organizational skills and close attention to detail. 
• Experience with clay practices preferred, but not required.

Physical Demands

This position requires an intern to walk unaided up and down hills and over uneven terrain, bend, stoop, reach above their head, use fine and gross motor skills, and work in close quarters. They must have normal visual acuity at near and far distances with correction and hear the spoken word with correction. The individual must be fluent in English. The position demands frequent exposure to inclement weather. They are frequently required to use hands to finger, handle, or touch objects, tools, or controls and talk fluently. They must occasionally lift and/or move heavy objects weighing up to 40 pounds. 

 

DO NOT APPLY ON THIS SITE - THIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. APPLY THROUGH THE  GOLDEN LEAF FOUNDATION AT, https://scholars.goldenleaf.org/rii/#Scholars. DEADLINE TO APPLY IS 2/19/26.