Careers and Internships: Career Advising and Services

We’re here to help you navigate your career options.

Career advisors help you develop a unique career path that is creatively satisfying, challenging, and rewarding. We'll assist you with résumés, cover letters, artist statements, proposals, and more. We can also help you select your strongest work for portfolios and identify opportunities that are right for you. Don't try to figure out your career options alone: have a conversation about your life as a creative professional with an SAIC career advisor.

Make an appointment to meet with an advisor. 

Each SAIC Career Advisor has a unique background and specific advising focus:

Vicki Engonopoulos
Co-director, Career + Co-op Center
Under Vicki’s supervision, the Co-op Program has placed over 9,000 students in art-related internships, where they earn course credit and gain valuable work experience. She has been a major player in guiding and expanding the Cooperative Internship Education Program as well as key components of experiential learning. She is chair of the arts and culture group for the National Society of Experiential Education and an active member of the Cooperative Education and Internship Association. Vicki obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa in painting and drawing. She has also taught photography and ceramics and led several SAIC study trips to Ireland and Greece. She continues to remember that place of being a young artist and assists students with transactions and transitions to their professional practices as artists.

Katharine (Kate) Schutta
Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Co-director of the Career + Co-op Center
Kate Schutta advises students and alumni/ae on professional and job search strategies and coordinates Career + Co-op Center activities and resources. Schutta’s past experience includes book cover and poster illustration and teaching at SAIC and the Royal College of Art. Exhibitions include: National Museum of Art, Wroclaw; Royal College of Art (RCA), School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Grants and Fellowships: Chicago Artists Assistance Program grants; RCA Research Fellowship in Communication Design; Peoples' Republic of Poland Art & Culture Grant. Education: MFA (1989), BFA (1985), School of the Art Institute of Chicago; BA History of Art (1983), Bryn Mawr College.

Tom Burtonwood
Faculty Advisor
Tom Burtonwood enjoys working with students and alumni to help them determine what their goals are, what type of research they might pursue, and what action to take to develop these ideas into concrete opportunities. Burtonwood has a background in arts administration, art fairs, curating, event management, and magazine publishing, and he can advise students and alumni in these aspects of the art world. In addition to acting as a career advisor Burtonwood teaches in the Arts Administration and Policy and Contemporary Practices departments at SAIC. He enjoys helping students act upon their imaginations, develop critical thinking, and hone their problem solving skills. Burtonwood maintains an active studio practice and has exhibited his work both nationally and internationally. tomburtonwood.com

Ann Chen
Faculty Advisor
Ann Chen works with students and alumni to identify individual strengths, skills, and strategies as related to professional development. Her focus is to help artists seek out and establish ties in the arts and design community. She began her studies in architectural history (BA UMD, 1994), and worked in the design field specializing in Project Administration and HR Management. In 2002, Chen completed the MFA program at SAIC. Her studies and professional experience in architecture and painting shaped her interest in multidisciplinary studio practice. She helps students navigate the wide ranging array of resources and find the best fit in their job search, internship, or studio practice.

Nancy Gildart
Assistant Director, Career Specialist
Nancy Gildart helps students and alumni develop strategies and identify opportunities for building their creative practices. She works with students to hone their applications for exhibitions, grants, fellowships (including Fulbright), residencies, graduate school, and more. Transferring from the corporate world, Gildart earned a BFA and then an MFA (2000) from SAIC's Department of Fiber and Material Studies. In addition to these degrees, she uses her past education—English and Library Science—every day in working with students to research opportunities and to develop persuasive proposals. gildart.com

John Sisson
Assistant Director, Employment Specialist
John Sisson helps students and alumni build employment skills that lead to creatively satisfying work opportunities. He is a graduate of SAIC (BFA 1993) and worked professionally in art and design for almost 15 years before returning to assist SAIC students and alumni. Sisson has insights into the needs of artists, designers, and creative individuals from his own background in photography, printmedia, graphic design, marketing, and communications. He also works as a documentary and editorial photographer, and he can help you understand what employers are looking for when they make hiring decisions. sissonphotography.com

Aimée Starck
Assistant Director of Career and Co-op
Aimée Stern is Assistant Director of the Career + Co-op Center at SAIC. She guides students seeking internship opportunities during thier academic career and advises on the importance of future planning and self discovery in pursuit of career goals. In addition to working with students on their résumés and portfolios, Stern is dedicated to delivering resources to students 24/7 via the Career + Co-op Center social media outlets, Facebook, Twitter, and the CCC blog. She received her BA in Studio Art and Business Administration in 2000 at the University of Texas at Austin and her MFA Painting and Drawing in 2003 from the SAIC. Prior to returning to SAIC, she worked with world-renowned architecture and design studios and maintains a freelance practice as a brand communications designer.