Working with Team Sunshine

One of the most meaningful things I got to do over winter break was my very first microinternship — and I can now officially say I have acutal work experience in graphic design!

With the help of Parker Dewey (which, by the way, is a great platform for finding short-term microinternships), I landed a remote design internship with an educational theater company called Team Sunshine, based right in Philadelphia, which feels pretty fitting, since Philly has become my second home during college.

Who Team Sunshine Is & What They Do

Team Sunshine isn’t your typical theater company. They produce performances and run workshops that combine theater, education, and community engagement. Their projects deal with real-world issues — things like:

• Climate change and environmental responsibility

• Equity, inclusion, and identity

• Gun violence prevention and community safety

• Collective care and hope for the future

Their educational theater workshops are where a lot of this work happens. Depending on the school’s needs, Team Sunshine offers:

• Short, 2-hour workshops for younger students to get a taste of devised theater

• 10-hour workshops that allow for deeper reflection and small-scale projects

• 25-hour, semester-long workshops where students fully create and perform original productions tackling social topics

What I loved most is that they approach theater as a tool for both artistic expression and social learning, giving students space to collaborate, tell stories, and work through real issues in creative ways.

My Role: Graphic Design for a Changing Program

When I joined, Team Sunshine was in the middle of revamping their educational workshop structure. They wanted a fresh set of materials to clearly communicate what they offered to schools and community partners — things like:

• Program brochures

• Informational posters

• Workshop breakdown sheets

• Visual guides for teachers and administrators

• Flexible templates for future updates

That’s where I came in.

Since this was my first time doing design work professionally, I wanted to approach it thoughtfully. I started by working with Phoebe (who was overseeing the educational programs and became such a great person to work with throughout this whole process). She shared some of Team Sunshine’s branding themes, which became my visual starting point.

Creating the Look: Fun but Professional

The design challenge was actually really fun — I wanted the materials to feel:

• Welcoming and bright enough to appeal to students and teachers alike

• Playful and creative, to reflect the spirit of theater

• Clean and professional, so schools could easily share and present the materials to decision-makers

  
  

Once I built out the first few templates, everything really started to fall into place from there. It became one of those projects where each piece built upon the last, and it was honestly satisfying to see the complete set of materials come together into something cohesive.

▲ An example of the brochure I made!

My First Paid Graphic Design Job (!!)

What made this even more exciting was that it was my first paid graphic design experience. I’ve done a lot of design work before — mostly for school projects, clubs, or just for fun — but this was the first time I got to bring those skills into a professional setting, collaborate with a real client, and see my work actually being used.

Phoebe gave me a lot of creative freedom, which I really appreciated — she trusted my instincts but also provided helpful feedback whenever I needed it. We communicated entirely remotely (since I was working on this from back home in Korea), but the time difference somehow worked out pretty smoothly. I’m truly grateful for the collaborative nature of the entire process.

Why This Meant So Much

Looking back, this microinternship felt like such a perfect blend of so many things I love:

• Education (since I’m studying education and developmental psych)

• Theater (which has always been one of my biggest passions)

• Design (getting to bring visual storytelling into it all)

• Community-centered work (supporting a local Philly organization doing meaningful work)

Even though I was on the other side of the world during winter break, it still felt like I was getting to support something local to Philly — the city I’ve called home during college. Knowing that these materials will help Team Sunshine reach more students and schools is genuinely a wonderful feeling.

I also love how Team Sunshine’s philosophy of participation, imagination, and empathy aligns so closely with my own view of education. Theater has immense power to help students engage with challenging topics, build confidence, and connect with one another in ways that feel creative and empowering.

A Tiny First Step — But One I’m Really Proud Of

Even though this was technically a "micro" internship, it feels like a big first step for me. I now have real design work experience that I can point to, and it’s made me even more excited to keep growing this skillset alongside everything else I’m doing in school.

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Currently listening to: quiet study playlists while editing design drafts

Currently drinking: hot chocolate (the unofficial graphic designer fuel)

Currently feeling: really proud of this small but very meaningful first experience