History Internships Testimonials

Here are some selections from interviews with Drake History Students about their internships. 

Internship: Living History Farms

Rachel Shugarts
Junior
Majors: History, LPS
Minor: English
Concentration: Women's and Gender Studies

Describe the Internship:
I worked at Living History Farms this summer as a Historical Interpreter Intern! In this role, I taught the public about Iowa’s rural history at different points in time.  I was an interpreter at the 1700 Ioway Native American site, the Tangen House (a middle class Victorian farmhouse in the 1876 Town of Walnut Hill), and the Flynn Mansion (a more upper class Victorian mansion in the 1876 Town of Walnut Hill).  Throughout the summer I talked to school groups, camp groups, and general visitors of all ages, and dressed up in period clothing to do it (with the exception of when I was at the 1700s site)!

Can you share something that made your internship especially fun or memorable?:
Engaging people in history, learning new historical skills, and doing everything with coworkers that I loved to work with was something that I’ll never forget — and doing it all in period clothing was also a plus, of course! One of my favorite memories from my internship has to be meeting, getting to know, and learning from my coworkers who ended up becoming my friends. One thing about working in living history museums is that you talk a lot when visitors are there, but there also can be a lot of downtime, so having coworkers there with you makes it more enjoyable. One of my coworkers and I became very close through our time spent talking and learning from each other at work, and now we still get together, visit historic sites, watch historical TV shows and movies, and more, even after my internship has ended.

What new interests, knowledge, or skills do you think you will take away from your internship?:
I have taken a lot away from this internship including a better understanding of the living history museum field, a greater sense of confidence in myself and my teaching abilities, and even some cool historical skills! These were skills such as tatting (unrelated to tattoos), crocheting, baking using a wood burning stove, doing laundry, finger weaving, and learning parlor games. I love the interactive aspect of living history museums, both in being able to touch or use certain artifacts as well as being able to hear from and ask questions of an actual person about the history you are learning about (instead of just reading a plaque).  To me it makes learning about history fun, interesting, memorable, and more real (which is what museums are supposed to do)! I also was reminded of how important it was to listen and learn from others. It is fascinating to watch your coworkers teach the public in their own ways, and doing so is very helpful in creating your own interpretive style.  This internship further solidified my desire to work in public history, and helped me finally realize that history is the route I want to go in.

Internship: National Park Services

Allie Shambaugh-Miller
Senior
Majors: History, Sociology
Minor: Religion
Concentration: Women's and Gender Studies

Describe the Internship:
I worked on the Historic Preservation Partnerships team as editor and author of feature article for their annual newsletter delivered to hundreds of National Historic Landmark (NHL) sites and stakeholders in the Midwest Region. Additionally, I learned about the basics of historic preservation within the National Parks service, visited multiple Nebraska NHLs, and compiled a list of grants available to Midwest NHL sites.

Can you share something that made your internship especially fun or memorable?:
My internship provided full funding for work-related travel, so I visited Deadwood, South Dakota for three days to research and write a feature article for the newsletter. I was able to focus the article on one of my areas of interest – gender relations and sex work in frontier mining towns – so the work related my own research interests as well.

What new interests, knowledge, or skills do you think you will take away from your internship?:
Before this internship, I didn’t know that local, state, and federal governments are major employers in public history, historic preservation, and archival management. History professions in the government provide great benefits, life-long careers with opportunities for advancement, and a central mission of public service!

Internship: State Historical Library of Iowa

Ashley Dyson
Sophomore
Majors: History, Politics
Minor: Philosophy 

Describe the Internship:
I worked in the library of the State Historical Society of Iowa. 

Can you share something that made your internship especially fun or memorable?:
Something that made my internship especially memorable was the fact that I played a key role in the move of the research center for the State Historical Library of Iowa. In my time at this internship, the research center was being renovated so it could better function for the patrons and the librarians who work there. So, playing a vital role in the moving process of the research center back into their permanent space was especially fun and memorable. Packing historical items in a way that would not damage them and having the opportunity to look at and read some of these books and other artifacts was both fun and memorable as well. 

What new interests, knowledge, or skills do you think you will take away from your internship?:
One new piece of knowledge that I learned was the importance of the librarians and volunteers that work within research centers and other historical library buildings and/or spaces. These are the people that truly know the most and have the most information about the books and other sources of information that the library has. Asking for help from these individuals who work within these libraries is important and can be very helpful.