Meet the intern: Nailah Jackson

Hamilton, Ohio – Some people claim success is their middle name.

Not Fitton Center summer intern Nailah Jackson. While Jackson is a middle child with an older sister and younger brother, her first name (pronounced na-EE-la) means “one who succeeds” in Arabic.

So far so good.

Jackson graduated from Miami University this spring with a degree in community art and a minor in photography. She began her internship in late May and will work about 10 hours a week at the Fitton Center through the middle of August, primarily in the galleries with Director of Exhibitions Cathy Mayhugh.

In fact, one of her first jobs at the Fitton Center was to help install the Students Today Artists Tomorrow exhibition featuring work by her fellow Miami art students in the Community Gallery. The exhibition included one of her own pieces, a poster-sized charcoal drawing.

“I’m looking forward to understanding the inner working of a community arts center,” Jackson said. “I’d love to be a gallery manager one day. Or an art director.”

Another focus – pardon the pun – of the internship lies with photography.

Jackson will document the 2025 Summer Camp Creativity season with her camera. She’ll also spend time shooting the Fitton Center building with an eye toward enhancing the virtual tour on the Fitton Center website.

Jackson got into art as a student at Lakota West High School, where she took classes in photography, metalworking and ceramics. She won an award for one of her images, a shot of one of her mother’s flowers.

She started as an engineering student at Miami, but quickly shifted gears back into the arts.

“Engineering wasn’t for me,” she said. “This stuff is just cool.”

Away from work, Jackson enjoys playing video games like Minecraft. And drawing.

“I like charcoal drawings a lot because they’re never finished,” she said. “You can always add something or rub something out and keep changing it.”

The Fitton Center for Creative Arts is located at 101 S. Monument Avenue on the Riverfront in downtown Hamilton, Ohio.

Building Community Excellence through the Arts and Culture