North Shore Intern Spotlight: Godwin Abebe

Godwin heard about The Arts of Life through word of mouth at DePaul University from past interns. He has been with us for about six months. He joins us a couple days week and leads Health Messages, a lifestyle curriculum from the University of Illinois at Chicago, with our artists.  He is currently a graduate student at DePaul University who is studying Psychology with a focus in cognitive neuroscience. Last week, North Shore artist Nikole Heusman interviewed Godwin to learn a bit more about him:Nikole Heusman: What is your name?Godwin Abebe: My name is Godwin Robinson AbebeNH: Abebe, I like that last name.GA: You like my last name?NH: Yes.GA: I am an intern from DePaul University.NH: Okay, alright. Godwin I’m going to ask you some questions.GA: OkayNH: How did you hear about The Arts of Life?GA: I heard about The Arts of Life from my predecessors. Those who came before me for internship from DePaul University.NH: Okay. Did you know any artist about starting your internship?GA: No, I had not met any artists before starting my internship. This is the first place I met all the artists.NH: Okay. (chuckles) What do you like about The Arts of Life?GA: A lot of things I like about The Arts of Life: the people, the artists, the volunteers, and the staff obviously. and i like a lot of the art works you guys make here. NH: Okay, what kind of work do you do when you’re not interning?GA: I work in the lab when I am not here at the arts of life. I work in the lab and I also go to school full timeNH: What do you like most about helping us?GA: This is an environment that makes me very, very happy when I am among the artists. So, What i like most about it is that all the artists are very ready to learn and improve their cognitive behavior. NH: Are you, (chuckles) okay, are you an artists?GA: No, I am not an artists. But i have been learning to make art as I have been working at the arts of life almost a year now.NH: What do you do, not at arts of life?GA: What I do, when I am not at the arts of life– kind of explained that earlier– is I work in a lab and I also go to school full time.NH: OkayGA: Yes.NH: Well, Godwin thank you for taking the time to let me interview you.GA: You’re welcome, did you have any other questions?NH: Um, did you hear about us on the internet or–?GA: No, I heard about the arts of life through my predecessors. NH: What is a predecessors?GA: Those who came before me as interns.NH: Okay.GA: Yes, I applied, I was interviewed and I was accepted. NH: Okay, does volunteering at the arts of life make you feel like you want to do some art?GA: Yes, absolutely. It’s one of my favorites. Life itself is art so you have to keep making work–keep making arts– every day of your life. NH: Okay, thank you.GA: Thank you very much, Nikole.