When Karen Kendig Simon ʼ73 reflects on her time at Denison, she sees a clear throughline leading from her successful, arts-focused career back to a particular opportunity during her senior year that set it all in motion.
As a theatre major, Simon spent a semester in New York City, working alongside a Broadway musical from casting through opening night. That experience — seeing behind the curtain of every aspect of a top-level production — transformed her understanding of the profession, expanded her network, and ultimately launched her career.
“It was that internship that allowed me to graduate from Denison one weekend, then move to New York that Monday,” Simon said. “I learned so much and I made so many contacts that I had job opportunities waiting.”
Today, she and her husband, Jim Simon ʼ73, are helping Denison students create their own career-defining moments through the Karen Kendig Simon ʼ73 Endowed Fund for Theatre Student Internships. The fund provides support for theatre students pursuing internships and professional experiences in acting, arts administration, design and lighting, stage management, musical theatre, playwriting, and related fields.
“I’m really interested in helping students get out there in the world,” she said. And the words of one of her faculty mentors, Professor William Brasmer, never left her. “He said, ‘What I can do for you is teach you to teach yourself.’ In New York, I had to still be resourceful and resilient,” she said. “But I learned those skills at Denison, and from this experience.”
The fund’s first recipient, Alex Kolb ʼ27, is already putting that vision into action. A theatre major from Colorado Springs, Colo., Kolb spent the summer participating in Denison’s Chicago Theatre Summer Internship Experience, an immersive program that places students in Chicago’s nationally recognized professional theatre community.
“I was drawn to Denison for its expansive theatre program and the terrific opportunities it offers,” Kolb said. “After graduating from Denison, I hope to continue to work backstage wherever I can and eventually become a professional playwright.”
When Simon saw his resume, she was impressed. “I thought, ‘Wow, this kid has it together probably much more than I did.’ I’m sure he’ll be successful,” she said.
Through internships like the one Kolb experienced and others coordinated by Denison’s Knowlton Center, students gain practical skills, professional connections, and firsthand insight into careers across industries. For students pursuing creative fields, those experiences can make all the difference.
“I absolutely needed to do an internship like that to get my foot in the door,” Simon said.
She also hopes her gift sends a broader message about the enduring value of the arts. At a time when conversations about career preparation often focus on technology and emerging fields, she believes creative disciplines remain essential.
“I hate to see the creative part of our society being whittled away,” she said. “The arts gave me not only a broader life, but financial success, too.” Simon parlayed her internship into three careers in entertainment: acting roles in two national tours, including Grease; ten years at NBC-TV as manager of talent relations for the network; and founding the Speakers Network, representing celebrities and media personalities for speaking engagements.
Most of all, Simon sees the internship fund as an investment in possibility.
“I felt doing this could make a difference in somebody’s life,” she said. “The internship made a difference in my life. I think it can make a difference in theirs, too.”
Through support like the Simon family’s, Denison students can pursue meaningful professional experiences, build confidence and connections, and take the first steps toward lives and careers shaped by purpose and creativity.