Summer Interns 2025

We’re a little delayed in this blog post because the summer seems to be flying by in the blink of an eye. If you’ve been around the Playhouse this summer, you may have met one or more of our summer interns.

We welcomed three new interns and welcomed back a returning intern, too! All of the summer 2025 interns are from Augustana College.

Ava

Hi, my name is Ava Coussens, and I am a rising senior at Augustana College majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders with minors in Disability Studies, Linguistics, and Theatre. Outside of classes, I am involved in the Augustana Dance Company, the Augustana Theatre Department, and serve as a mentor with the Quad City Penguin Project. Off campus, I work as a tap teacher! In my free time, I enjoy getting coffee, reading, and thrifting! At GiGi’s Playhouse, I hope to gain new experiences that will better prepare me for a future career in speech and language pathology! 

Paige

Hello! My name is Paige, and I’m from Moline. I attend Augustana College, where I am studying to become a Speech Language Pathologist and play on the Women’s Basketball team. During my internship at Gigi’s Playhouse, I hope to learn more about working with individuals with Down syndrome while building skills that will support my future career. I am passionate about supporting others, helping them gain independence skills, and having fun along the way!

Abby

Hello, I am Abby Smith, and I am a senior attending Augustana College. I am double majoring in Public Health and Psychology. I am interning at GiGis this summer to get experience in working with individuals one-on-one and in group settings. It has been a great experience getting to know everyone and volunteering for the program!

Colleen

Colleen might be familiar to some of you because she has interned with us before! Collen was a program greeter and assistant during summer 2024, and she’s back with us this summer. She’s assisting with various programs but also tutoring two students in math!

Many of our programs would not be possible without the support of volunteer interns from our local universities. We love that we can collaborate with various departments to provide their students with the experience, and also increase the programs we offer.