Hi! My name is Olivia Wendel and I am the current music therapy intern at Rhythm Garden Music (RGM). I wanted my first blog post to be a bit of an introduction of myself. I am from Jasper, Indiana, but I currently live in Terre Haute while I complete my internship. I attended Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, studying music therapy and Spanish. My primary instrument is flute, but I also enjoyed taking piano, voice, and guitar as well. It was at the Woods where I learned of RGM. I completed a summer practicum with RGM in 2019, and immediately fell in love with the company. I loved that every single day was something different—from driving to different facilities and clients to learning the ins and outs of a small business and how it runs.
When I learned that RGM would be a national roster music therapy internship site, I applied and was blessed enough to have received an offer to be an intern following the completion of my coursework! As an intern here, I will complete my 1200 clinical hours required to fulfill all requirements for my bachelor’s degree—making me eligible to take my board certification exam upon completion. I am eager to meet the clients and have a chance to make music with everyone. My goals for my internship are to grow as a future music therapy clinician, dive into the world of the Indiana Medicaid Waiver, and Telehealth. While I never thought I’d be interning during a global pandemic, I think this will be a great learning experience on how to be flexible and how to adapt to different scenarios.
Outside of my musical life, I enjoy crafting, playing video/board games (my favorite game right now is Animal Crossings for the Switch), and spending time with my friends, family, and pets.
Keep a look out for my monthly blog posts. I am excited to have this blog to share my experiences as an intern and for you get a glimpse of what my life is like as an RGM intern. I look forward to meeting everyone!
– Olivia Wendel
