HIST 3097 Internship Fall 2017
What is your major?
History
Where was your internship placement?
Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center
What did your general duties involve?
As a museum technician/park ranger for the Army Corps of Engineers I maintain the ship-watching schedule done by the visitor center, as well as help and answer visitor questions on the shipping industry and boat traffic. I've also had various projects with improving the museum such as creating exhibits and documenting and handling artifacts within the collection. Besides this, as a park ranger I interpreted local history through free tours we had of canal park over the Summer.
What was your most memorable experience?
My most memorable experiences were whenever I met people who worked on the freighters of the Great Lakes; they were fun to talk to because they awesome and interesting stories to tell. One older gentleman I met actually sailed on the Edmund Fitzgerald in the 1960's, famous for its sinking in 1975.
Has your internship influenced your career path?
I'm honestly convinced that I'd really like to work in either museums or historic preservation as a career due to my experience at the maritime museum. Before my experience there, I was skeptical of doing museum-work for a career.