[mp_row]

[mp_span col=”12″]

We have a new intern in the office, Tate Clemen. He will be working mostly on marketing for shows, social media, and on the finance committee. We went ahead and asked him a few questions to get to know him a little better.
Q: Share a little about yourself, where you came from, your interests, etc. What experiences do you have working for a nonprofit?
A: Hi, I’m Tate Clemen; I am currently a freshman at Drake University in Des Moines, pursuing a B.S.B.A. in Accounting and Finance and a B.A. Theatre Arts. I have a passion for the arts in all forms: theatre, music, design. Art has the power to invoke emotion and provoke change, and that is so incredible. I grew up and spent pretty much my whole life in Kansas City. Nonprofit and volunteer work has kind of always been a part of my life. I’ve worked closely with BeHeadStrong, which is a local, KC organization that works with brain cancer patients and their families. I also do a lot of service through Holy Cross Lutheran Church. I’m really excited to get to start working with DMMC.
Q: What experience do you have in music and why do you think you’re a good fit to work with the Des Moines Music Coalition?
A: Music, for as long as I can remember, has always been a huge part of my life. I can remember starting to really get into music when I was about seven or eight; it was when I found classic rock and metal: Metallica, Nirvana, AC/DC, Gun n’ Roses, etc. It was really one of my first loves. I think it was about then, when I was nine, that I asked for a guitar for Christmas, and I’ve been playing ever since. And then, a couple years ago, I was asked to play bass in a band, and was able to pick that up pretty quickly. I played in a few bands in high school, most successfully with a power-punk group called Chovette. We played for a couple years and released an EP, but college makes it harder to get together. I’d say my music taste has really changed and diversified over the year: Alt, Musical Theatre, some Folk, some Jazz some Rap, and some EDM, really pretty much anything. I’ve always had a passion for live music, and I think the DMMC will give me a great opportunity to work with like-minded people on what we’re passionate about.
Q: What are your plans after you graduate from Drake? 
A: So, I am an extremely extroverted person and a lot of my strengths lie in people, so I’d love to hone that skill set a little more and be able to transfer that into my career. So right now I’m thinking of either doing something in sales, most likely selling services for a company, driving revenue, or be in an executive leadership role in a company. That’s really the plan right now, but of course that can always change.

[/mp_span]

[/mp_row]