5 Questions: Annie Gala, SAL Intern
July 14, 2016
Meet Annie Gala, SAL’s brand new Marketing and Programs Intern! We asked Annie five questions about her new role with SAL, her travels through France, and what’s on her summer reading list…
1. What is your role at SAL—and what part of it is most exciting to you so far?
I am an intern for the Marketing Department, but am excited to learn from everyone working here because it seems like each person is doing very interesting work. So far, I have really enjoyed doing research on upcoming authors. It’s really interesting to get a feel for their voice, and it makes me really excited for them to come and talk in Seattle. I also really enjoyed going to the Annie Proulx reading. Seeing how many audience members were excited to hear her speak made me really happy that there is an organization like SAL in our city.
2. What do you do when you’re not at SAL? (I would love to hear more about your travels!)
Lately, I have been trying to spend a lot of time outside because I recently moved back to Seattle, and the environment here is what I missed most while I was away. I really like to swim and go on walks, which are the perfect summer activities in my mind. This past year I was living in France, and I’m still trying to take it easy a bit because I did a lot of traveling while I was living there. My favorite places to visit were Scotland and Budapest. While I miss France and my adventures, it is so nice to be back in what I very biasedly believe is the best city in the world.
3. What are some of your career ambitions?
In September I will start working on my master’s degree in English. I plan to become an English teacher, hopefully for high school students. That being said, I would also love to be involved in organizations like Seattle Arts & Lectures. I feel strongly about programs that encourage life-long learning for people that might not be in school anymore, but are still interested in learning more about the world.
4. Ideal summer vacation?
This is a really hard question because there are a lot of places I want to visit. Some of my best memories are the summers I spent with my friend at her cabin in Lake Chelan though, so I would have to say something like that. Someplace when I can just swim all day and lay in the sun with my family and friends.
5. What’s on your summer reading list?
I am trying to read along with the authors that I am researching so I can get a better idea of their writing style, and because they are all so good! I am currently reading Run by Ann Patchett. I am also slowly working my way through The Unbearable Lightness of Being because I just got back from Prague, and the book features that city heavily. It’s not very long, but it is quite dense and a bit difficult for me to parse out. I am also waiting to get Roxane Gay’s Bad Feminist from the library because she just did an interesting interview on This American Life, and she is one of the Women You Need to Know speakers coming this season.