A Future in the Nonprofit Sector

Rebecca Waterhouse '17

Rebecca Waterhouse ’17 is an arts enthusiast and athlete who wants to make a difference. As an arts management student and member of the women’s tennis team, she is using every opportunity that she can to grow and develop into someone who can be an asset to the nonprofit sector. With just three semesters under her belt at MCLA, she seems to be on the right track.

“Upon graduating high school, I knew that I wanted to work in the business of the arts industry and MCLA’s program was very appealing,” she said. “When I visited MCLA as a high school student, I remember not only hearing about great student/faculty relationships, but also seeing it. I wanted to be part of a community in a new environment with new people.”

The College’s location in the Berkshires served as the perfect place for her to flourish and seek new opportunities. On the athletics front, she is excelling in tennis and has a solid team that she enjoys playing with. Her time with the team has allowed her to travel, volunteer, participate in conferences, and even test her abilities on and off the court. As far as academics, thanks to the tutelage of her professors, she has already spent time in multiple art galleries and even attended the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) Conference in NYC this past January. Her travel, along with other MCLA Fine & Performing arts students, was generously supported by the Alice Shaver Foundation.

These experiences all feed into her dream of working for a nonprofit organization that uses art to expose important issues facing the environment. “I want to empower people to be activists of their own passions,” she declared.

As an arts management student who seeks to work in the nonprofit sector, Waterhouse understands the importance of learning about fundraising. She has recently joined the MCLA Alumni Association’s Phonathon team to gain firsthand fundraising experience and to further develop her communication skills.

“This position is going to provide me with valuable outside-the-classroom experience that I can use in the future,” she stated.

However, she isn’t just looking for what she can gain from the program; she wants to encourage alumni to get involved. “It is important for alumni to give because there are so many students who are in the same shoes they were once in. For students to know that those who graduated before them are supporting them in some way is extremely empowering; that support makes a difference.”