SEMO Historian

Maria, graduate student, talks about her experience at her internship in Washington, D.C.

“This summer I had the privilege of being the Government Relations Intern at the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the head office located in Washington, D.C. Throughout my time I was able to work on several projects under the guidance of the Government Relations team. The main project I worked on was a report over the Historic Tax Credit (HTC) and its impact on several states including Wisconsin, Maine, Ohio, Alabama, Indiana, Louisiana, and Texas. This report will give people who are advocating in support of the HTC a resource to use to show how important the credit is to their legislators.

Along with this larger project I was able to participate in some smaller ones. I spent some time supporting the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) by putting together some one-pagers for the LWCF Coalition’s 52-week campaign to save the fund. I also was able to participate in two Lobby Days: one was in support of the HTC Enhancement Act and the other was in support of the Restore Our Parks Act. I really enjoyed getting to participate in these Lobby Days because they showed me how much work goes into supporting the legislation and how much of a team effort it is.”

Jenn, graduate student, tells us about her internship on Little Rock, Arkansas.

“I spent the summer of 2018 in Little Rock, Arkansas interning at the Department of Arkansas Heritage within the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. I had the privilege of designing my internship with the Deputy Director of the office based upon my interests and willingness to learn new concepts within the Historic Preservation field. I had the honor of working with the National Register Survey team, Main Street Arkansas, Community Outreach, and Cemetery Preservation. Anyone who knows me knows of my love of cemetery preservation. This bug bite me in undergrad and I have been hooked ever since so I was so ecstatic to incorporate it into my internship.

I spent my internship putting my classroom knowledge to the test from presenting a National Register property to the State Review Board to working with the Main Street team on a consulting job. The program here at Southeast Missouri State University is focused on building the next generation of historic preservationist leaders who inspire change and I was extremely fortunate enough to work with like-minded individuals this summer at the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. My favorite aspect of my internship was working on a cemetery preservation project on cemetery carvers. I complied a database for cemetery carvers displayed in Arkansas which included a bio, examples of their work, and photo of their makers mark or signature. It is now a part of their permanent collection in their archives which is exciting.

This internship gave me insight on how a state Historic Preservation office runs. I met many passionate people who either had a Master’s Degree in Architecture, Historic Preservation, or Urban Planning. Although they all had separate job duties, those separate pieces fit together perfectly to ensure that they are fulfilling the objectives of the National Historic Preservation Act throughout the state of Arkansas. It was a great opportunity to work with so many passionate preservationists who are saving the special places that tell the story of Arkansas.”

Hannah, graduate student, tells us about her internship in Maine.

“Over the summer of 2018, I had the opportunity to work with the Castine Historical Society (CHS) as their graduate curatorial intern. I spent ten weeks living in the small, sleepy coastal town of Castine, Maine. The curator of CHS, Paige Lilly, was my direct supervisor. I worked closely with both Paige and Lisa, the new executive director of the historical society. I found it extremely intriguing witnessing the dynamics of how a small town historical society operated. Considering the population of the town of Castine is only a little over 1,000 residents, the professionalism of the Castine Historical Society is truly impressive from their exhibit displays, collection management practices, and state of the art geothermal archival space.

I immensely enjoyed my time working with CHS over the summer, and I had the opportunity to build upon my professional skills as a future public historian. Between learning about the vast history of the town of Castine, chartered in 1786, leading historic walking tours, cataloging and accessioning stereoviews, and assisting in planning the summer exhibit for 2019, I found myself busy this summer. I loved every minute of it though; each day was filled with new adventures and pushed me to put into practice the skills and theories that I had learned from the classroom. Every time friends and family inquired about the progress of my summer, I found myself enthusiastically describing how I got to spend my days reading through old ship ledgers and letters of sea captains dating back to the 19th century. I spent many days this summer lost in the tales and drama of adventures of the past locked away in the historical society’s archives. The experience of working as the graduate curatorial intern for the Castine Historical Society was simply amazing. When I was not working at CHS, I spent my time exploring the picturesque coastal lands of Maine. I truly am so thankful that I had this opportunity and I know that I will forever treasure the memories of this summer.”

Katie, graduate student, tells us what she did at her internship in Memphis, Tennessee.

“This summer I worked as a Community Engagement intern at the Pink Palace Family of Museums in Memphis, Tennessee. As a community engagement intern, I worked at community engagement tables, which means that I went out into the different communities of Memphis to collect different information for the upcoming Bicentennial Exhibit at the Pink Palace. The information that we collected included voice recordings from the people of Memphis and visitors of Memphis, photographs of the people from Memphis, and words that people use to describe Memphis. I also had the opportunity to search through the Pink Palaces’ collections management database to find items for the “Community Curated” part of the exhibit. The reason that this part of the exhibit is called “Community Curated” is because the community is going to get to vote for an item to be on display. The winning item will then be on display for about a month; there will be a new item each month the exhibit is open. While there were other projects that I completed as the community engagement intern, I learned the most from these two projects. These projects taught me how important it is to involve your community in your museum.”