Starring Our Interns: Community Engagement

The Summer 2025 interns are still hard at work as the first month has come to an end. Bridget, our interviewee of the week, describes the vibe at Starlight as insightful, energizing, and exciting. Every week brings new challenges, fun events, and learning opportunities to prepare them for their future. 

Bridget Pohlman, who is spending her summer with Starlight’s Community Engagement team, has experienced firsthand the many ways Starlight impacts the Kansas City community. From attending Just Imagine performances to helping kids make troll headbands at Community Movie Night, Bridget is learning a new way to foster connections beyond the stage. 

After four years of teaching music and theater, Bridget made the decision to leave the classroom and pursue a new path in community engagement. The decision was difficult to make but she realized that her passion for community outreach and arts could be applied outside of a classroom.  

“One of the things that I tried to make a big deal of when I was leaving was, I uncovered this dream of working in this industry, and I wasn’t too old to decide to chase it,” Pohlman told her students. 

That mindset led her to Starlight, where she found the perfect place to grow while combining her love for the arts and community.   

Of all the programs Bridget has been working on, Just Imagine stands out as the most rewarding. The program reaches hundreds of children each year at schools, community centers, and other nonprofits serving families across Kansas City. She has been able to sit in on the performances and watch the children light up as they watch something new and exciting.  

“It might seem like going somewhere for an hour doesn’t do much, but for some kids, that hour might be something they remember for the rest of their lives,” Bridget said.  

These performances are a reminder of how the arts can create safe spaces for children to express themselves and have fun.  

Alongside the hands-on work with the community, one of the memorable parts of the internship for Bridget so far has been getting to know the other interns. Zoo trips, scavenger hunts, educational meetings, and lunchtime chats have all made the experience meaningful.

“You can come to work and be like, I have friends here, people who are excited to see me,” she said. “Having other interns to bounce ideas off and grow with is what makes this internship so unique. It makes a daunting job turn into something more doable just by having people go through the same thing as one another.”

Bridget and the rest of the interns will continue to collaborate, create and learn with each other as these next week’s fly by. 

As her internship continues, Bridget is settling into the rhythm of the new experience. It’s been a big shift from the classroom to the nonprofit world, but her time as a teacher continues to help inform the way she supports the mission behind each program.  Whether she’s connecting with people in the community, brainstorming new ideas, or seeing the impact of programs like Just Imagine, Bridget is following her dreams and preparing for what’s next.