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July 3, 2001
Charlottesville-With a career interest in the entertainment industry, Virginia Volleyball outside hitter Kiersten Kaufman (Monroeville, Pa.) decided to remain in Charlottesville this summer to intern with the Buzby Band. Participating in a variety of events, Kaufman explained that part of her internship is to help the band schedule their three performances a week and also help out at practice.
In addition, Kaufman has been traveling on weekends as a part of her internship in the music industry. In just three months, Kaufman has traveled with the band to cities such as Boston, Richmond, Buffalo, N.Y., Lexington, Va., Fairfax, Va., and Nags Head, N.C.
Despite the fact that she doesn’t perform with the band, Kaufman maintained that the time she spends with the band is an advantage to her career goal.
“Even though I can’t practice with them, they are always open to helping me out as much as possible,” said Kaufman, who is taking guitar lessons two to three times a week. “My career goal is to enter the entertainment industry hopefully as a performer, but if not, I would like to be involved in it anyway,” she said.
Kaufman admitted that she has a full schedule as an intern, but also explained that it works to her advantage in terms of time management with her personal training.
“I have enough time for personal training, if I had less to do, I probably wouldn’t do it,” she said. “It’s mentally challenging, my weekends are tough because I’m gone a lot.”
Having started this internship in the spring, Kaufman plans to continue her internship throughout the school year to gain experience.
“I plan to intern as long as possible. I enjoy the work and the company of the band,” she said. “During the fall and spring I am very busy with volleyball and schoolwork but I’m still going to make every effort to intern.”
Besides her internship and personal training, Kaufman will also participate in the team’s summer camps. Scheduled to start July 15, Kaufman will coach the first camp of high school volleyball players. Kaufman acknowledged that coaching will be a challenge.
“Physically, being a coach is easier but it’s also what you make of it. As a player you have to physically and mentally prepare yourself, ” she said.
Adding a little more pressure to her summer schedule, Kaufman plans to start pre-season training Aug. 9. During this three-week period, Kaufman and her teammates will train two to three times a day for the upcoming volleyball season.
Other members of the volleyball team also decided to remain in Charlottesville this summer. Outside hitter Whitney Ashcroft (Yorktown, Ind.) is enrolled in summer school and Katie Synan (Fredericksburg, Va.) will be coaching at all three camps. Synan has also competed for one of six remaining spots on the Junior National Volleyball Team.