Backstage at the Egyptian: Meet our summer marketing intern, Jon Warnick

Hello hello, I’m Jon and I have the pleasure of being the intern for the summer of 2022. I’m a senior at Northern Illinois University, looking to graduate at the end of the Spring 2023 semester with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. The goal is to take what I have learned from studying sociology, and the experiences gained from working with the Egyptian Theatre and attend a graduate program in Chicago towards a Masters in Social Work with an Organization and Community Practice specialization. One of the biggest draws of working with a non-profit for me is the dedication to the improvement of their communities, which is something I believe mixes well with my desire to see and make positive changes around us. 

A little bit about me, I grew up around Northern Chicago in a family where music, reading and film became a near constant. Everyone in my family plays at least one instrument, and for my school’s band I was given the opportunity to learn to play the tuba, while picking up guitar for my own enjoyment. I always have something playing, be it Blues, Jazz, Indie, Folk, Finnish Melodic Death Metal or Classic rock (there is no such thing as too much Pink Floyd or The Kinks), any music could be playing all day and I would be happy. Every year my family also gets back together for a couple of nights and we either go see a play or watch old movies or shows, so performing arts have always been a big part of my life. 

Looking forward to this summer I hope to help the Egyptian Theatre build its connections with both DeKalb county and the surrounding towns, while also hopefully pulling in some of the student population that is still here over the summer. I am also looking forward to understanding more of how the Theatre interacts with DeKalb both as a nonprofit and as a staple of the community, putting on various shows and events. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with the Egyptian Theatre, and would like to thank both the Egyptian Theatre the DeKalb County Nonprofit Partnership for the opportunity this summer.