Going into your final year of college and wondering what to do next? Coming up to the end of my Master’s degree in 2024, I was trying to answer that question.
One day, I came across a mass email from my college exploring the J1 internship visa programme. Ok, that feels like a plan.
If you’re trying to figure out your next step, this might be a pathway for you to travel to new places, meet new people and give you some insight into the careers available in your field of study.
Here are some of the steps I took when starting the process of this program:
I first contacted USIT, an Irish-based work abroad organisation that helps with the process of gaining sponsorship for your J1 visa. USIT helps to guide you through the visa, embassy, training plan, and placement vetting process.
They will also secure your US sponsor and act as your representative until you arrive in the US. In my case, my US sponsor was the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), a non-profit organisation for cultural exchange based in the United States.
There are a lot of different factors that determine your eligibility to apply for this visa; graduation date, restrictions on certain subjects (for example, teaching, construction, health care) all the way down to the US Embassy approving of your visa.
I attended online information sessions that USIT, held explaining as well as working one-on-one with their representatives to address my specific inquiries.
I also visited my college’s career guidance counsellor to get assistance with updating my resume, practice interview skills and also explore the different roles that might be of interest to me.
A few things to note: this visa requires your work experience to correlate to your studies and each position must be vetted by your US sponsor. Also, internships can be notoriously under or unpaid, and it might be worthwhile exploring your funding options, like credit union or student bank loans.
So here’s my little case study on what I got up to on this visa!
Having graduated with my Master’s in Music Performance from the Cork School of Music, I focused on internship positions within the arts administration and I ended up receiving internship positions with two non-for-profit organisations; the Savannah Music Festival in Georgia and the SoHo Playhouse in New York.
I first worked with the Savannah Music Festival (SMF) as their seasonal Artist Relations and Development Intern from March to April, 2025. Taking part in the behind-the-scenes of a jam packed festival was so exciting.
I processed transportation and hospitality schedules, managing artist arrival packets and every other odd job along the way from binding music scores for Philip Dukes and Friends at the Trinity United Methodist Church to traffic control for the Musical Explorer’s marching brass band as part of the festival’s free music program for elementary students.
After clocking out, I got to listen to all the artists the festival had to offer! From sitting in the sold out Johnny Mercer Theater for An Evening With Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, or nestled into the stunning restored Lucas Theater for Shovels & Rope and Langhorne Slim, and even to singing along up in the balcony of the Trustees Theatre with Ladysmith Black Mambazo; it felt amazing watching these shows and knowing I played some small role in bringing it all together.
There was, of course, time to explore the beautiful city of Savannah; walking through the spooky and stunning Colonial Park Cemetery, visiting the colony of cats in E. Shaver Booksellers and even taking in a sunrise swim at Tybee Beach.
And maybe the most quintessentially Savannah experience; St Patrick’s Day. Savannah is renowned for having the second largest St Patrick’s Day in the United States with people annually camping out to watch the parade.
After saying my tearful goodbyes to my new Savannah friends, I set off for New York to the SoHo Playhouse to work as a development intern in the wild world of Off-Broadway theatre.
Dating back to 1767, the site held names like George Washington and Aaron Burr, the building became a theatre in 1961, housing The Playwrights Unit Workshop co-founded by Edward Albee’s (Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf). This ignited the core mission of supporting new and independent theater that is still championed by the SoHo Playhouse today.
Through my role as the development intern, I became intrinsically part of the theatre’s life. I poured myself into every facet of the theatre; from social media, graphic design, donor membership programming, front of house, box office, lighting, sound, theatre maintenance and even how to properly steam costumes.
Getting to take part in all of these steps to bring a show onto the stage highlights the many roles that the arts truly have.
New York is known as the “city that never sleeps”. I can now confirm that is also true of their theatres.
The SoHo Playhouse is home to two stages that are continuously filled with stories told through improvisation, comedy, drama, dance and open mics.
There was space for every story; whether it was British comedian and ventriloquist Nina Conti, the New York icons of improv, TJ and Dave, and even Edinburgh Fringe First award-winners Xhloe and Natasha’s amazing clowning.
The staff themselves are exceptional performers, comedians and writers who showcase the true heart of New York artists (as well as Seth Meyers the box office cat!) Exploring NYC, I got to live out many firsts, from getting on the big screen at Yankee Stadium, seeing my first Broadway show to watching the fireworks on the Fourth of July!
Embarking on this visa I got to experience lifelong goals, find new pathways and build up my skills to pursue my passions. If you’re in college looking for your next pathway, explore what options are available with the J1 internship visa, you might just find your answers.
https://www.usit.ie/experiences/professional-internships/internship-usa/
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/study/exchange.html
https://www.creditunion.ie/what-we-offer/loans/student/
https://aib.ie/our-products/loans/education-loans
CONTACT:
Rebecca Dermody’s email: rebecca.derm27@gmail.com
