When school starts, I will be as pale as when it ended. I did not spend my summer seaside, leaving footprints in the wet sand. Rather, I summered in an air-conditioned environment, leaving an imprint in all the chairs. I explored Boston from behind a computer screen and inside of dusty archives. But despite not having any tan lines, I would not have changed my decision for the world.
Last year, I stumbled into my public history graduate program with little to no idea of where I saw myself after earning my degree. I had vague notions about my career path. This year, I will stroll into my department with purpose and direction because I used this summer to explore three different internships. I loved some more than others, but, of course, figuring out what you do not like is just as important as knowing what you do like.
My first internship was with the MIT Museum.
Image of the MIT Museum. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
It has a fascinating array of exhibits, absolutely worth your time. I started out in the collections department, because I liked that idea of being able to hold the items that no one else could. As a child, I resented being told not to touch, so now I finally had my chance! However, collections work is at least fifty percent data entry. It’s an important part of the museum, but it differed from my expectations, and I felt I belonged elsewhere. Fortunately, my wonderful supervisor, Joan Whitlow, agreed with me. She set up meetings for me with the public programming department and the associate director who was conducting visitor surveys. I enjoyed being out with public more than I valued the privilege of being around artifacts. I helped set up some of the “Second Fridays” programs. Interacting with people who learned from and enjoyed the programs really excited me, and I knew that I wanted to specialize in that area. The positive energy of a great program cannot be matched, and I wanted to keep creating unique ways for people to interact with the past and feel that history is more than names and dates but that it’s alive.
Image of the Jason Russell House. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
My second internship was with the Arlington Historical Society. I worked with Natalie King, a fellow graduate student, historian, and friend. We were given the task of creating a furnishing plan for the Jason Russell House, a very unique residence with a fabulously gory history. I highly recommend researching it. We recorded every item in the house, found its accession number in the society’s collection management software, and then decided which pieces were period appropriate. We also came up with ideas for reproductions that could be added to the house in order to further the story. We also had to create a new tour. We did not get a chance to rewrite the original tour completely, but we certainly revised major parts to reflect our new interpretation. That was so much fun, researching and interpretation. It is definitely an area I would like to explore more, and it works well with public programming. Both public programming and interpretation focus on on audience needs and perspectives.
The steeple of the Old North Church. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
My last internship was rather unexpected. I was interviewing for a seasonal position at the Old North Church and rang the wrong doorbell. The woman who answered was actually the woman who interviewed me for an internship months ago; she remembered me. A week after this chance meeting, she emailed me offering an internship designing an exhibit. I was definitely surprised and flattered. At first, I was unsure about being able to balance three internships, but the lure of designing an exhibit was too strong to pass up. Old North will be celebrating its 300-year anniversary soon and huge changes to the church and to the courtyard are in the works. Part of the plan is to create an underground space which will include an audiovisual room, kitchen, and exhibit. Although it is still a few years from completion, the organization wanted ideas for an exhibit to present to people. I have had a lot of fun, but this might have been my most stressful internship as well. I have not sketched in such a long time, and it was hard to get some of my ideas across. Overall, I enjoyed the experience, but I know that exhibit design is not the career for me.
This summer has been truly challenging and has definitely given my career path a little direction. I have, for better or worse, become a professional intern. The experience was worth missing out on some summer fun, but I still have a week off before school starts. I might be able to squeeze in a beach adventure after all!
By Samantha Grangaard, M.A. student in public history.
Boston Public History 