Tyler Vanice is a History major (class of ’15) and Public History minor. In this guest blog post, he writes about his summer job working in public history. His job built upon his 2013 internship with the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. Learn more about Daemen's many internship opportunities here.
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| Tyler Vanice |
ByTyler Vanice:
Last year I
was accepted into the Washington Internship Institute and interned
at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, VA. This
spring, the Curator and Executive Director of the Memorial called me and offered
me a job since they had liked my work as an intern. I couldn’t hold my excitement
when I heard the news. I told them that I still have another year of school as
I interned a year earlier than most people (in my sophomore year) but they were
happy I was willing to work at least for the summer.
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When I had finally finished digitizing, I was finally able to do the work I enjoyed the most, which was cataloging and inventorying the Memorials collection. The museum had received a large collection containing thousands of items from the Masonic Service Association (MSA). This included correspondence and various records dating back to the early 1920’s. These records were rescued from destruction; the MSA was clearing space to make room for new management and the records were being discarded before the Curator of the Memorial intervened. There was so many items that we didn’t know what to do with them so we left the project for another time. I was able to do a basic inventory before we quit.
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| Artifacts awaiting processing |
For the last month of my stay I was asked to sort and organize the file room for the Memorial since it had become a mess. I did not know what I got myself into when I agreed to take the task; it took me weeks to complete. I finished just in time for a researcher to use the room.
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I never
realized how tiresome it is to work in a museum! I was told that when working
in a museum, a person wears many hats and I found that out the hard way! I had
enjoyed my experience down in D.C. just as much as I did the year before. I
always enjoyed working with artifacts and being able to “play” with history. It
was exciting to work alongside the Curator of the Memorial in all the projects
that needed to be done.
D.C. is a marvelous place to be and
I recommend everyone who has never visited should do so. For a person who
enjoys working in museums, I sure had found the right place! The area offers a
lot of history and places to visit; from the National Mall to George
Washington’s tomb, D.C. offers a little bit of everything to everyone.
From researching, to cleaning, to stripping wax off the floors, I accomplished a lot over the summer. After working hard all summer and walking up the hill for work in the 90+ degree weather every day, I can say I had fun and enjoyed my experience as much as my first time I went down. And in the end, it was worth all the work because I heard the magic words that everyone wants to hear; “I’d like to have you back next year.”
It is a great relief to know that after I graduate from Daemen, that I will have a job waiting for me. D.C. offers a lot of different opportunities and I have the Washington Internship Institute to thank for giving me the chance to leave Buffalo and experience a new world.
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