SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Internships
Penn State Erie strongly encourages students to complete at least one internship. Internships offer useful, real-life work experience and an opportunity to "try out" careers in public history fields such as records management, historical preservation, historical writing, and museum work. Internships provide students with the chance to make professional contacts and build their resume. A number of students have found jobs at the institution in which they interned.
A wide variety of institutions have offered internship opportunities to Behrend students in recent years: Behrend College Archives, Colonial Williamsburg (Williamsburg, VA), Drake's Well Museum (Titusville, PA), Erie County Historical Society and Museums (Erie, PA), Erie Maritime Museum (Erie, PA), Erie Insurance Corporate Archives (Erie, PA), Harborcreek Historical Society (Harborcreek, PA), John Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh, PA), Meadowcroft Historical Museum and Village (Avella, PA), Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA), U.S. State Department (Washington, D.C.), and the Warren County Historical Society (Warren, PA).
An internship coordinator in the Career Development Center is available to help students find a placement that fits their needs and interests, and the History program chair maintains a list of history-related internships.
Featured History Internships:
Holly
Anderson's Internship In June 2002, Holly Anderson interned in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, at the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History
Center, an associate of the Smithsonian Institution since 2000.
The History Center, located
in the historic Strip District of Pittsburgh at 1212 Smallman Street,
is "the place where you can connect with our region's past in
a way that's fun."
Holly's internship with the History Center was with the museum's education
department. During the internship, Holly put together a training manual
for guides and evaluated information packets on the museum's resources
that the Center sent out to area educators. The bulk of her internship
covered learning and then conducting eight of the museum's tours.
These included "The Earth to You," "The Underground
Railroad," "Changing Homes," and "Pittsburgh from
A-Z." This work allowed Holly to learn about different areas
of history and new techniques in teaching it to children of all ages.
Two selections from her journal follow below. The second, July 19,
summarizes her internship experience.
Friday, June 12, 02
This morning I spoke with John Ford and the other docents
on which tours to give and to follow. I was assigned with Ellen Fogal
to give the Points in Time tour and the Changing Homes tour. We had
a loud and energetic group of 6-8 year olds. This particular group
was somewhat challenging, but I feel that they got the gist of the
tour and most of the children did walk away with some interesting
information. They asked quite a few questions as well.
I first showed the children the changing map of the city from a 1750
picture to a 1995 picture. I explained about the geographical changes
of the land and rivers. We discussed the opportunities of the rivers
and that piece of land, especially from the influence of the French
and Indian War.
I then showed them a short video of Pittsburgh through time and we
continued on our tour. We met the re-enactor who plays a Native American
from the Seneca Tribe, called Handsome Lake. The children were able
to see the type of people that lived in the area during the 1700's.
We then proceeded to make our way to the McConell family log house
and trough. I told the group about the immigrants and the types of
houses they lived in and how the Native Americans, like the Iroquois
were here long before any of these immigrants from Europe.
We discussed some of the artifacts in the house scene, such as the
fireplace and its uses for cooking and keeping the whole house warm.
I showed them where their thirteen children all slept in one tiny
mattress, stuffed with feathers, fur, and straw (where the saying,
"don't let the bed bugs bite" derived), and the tool they
used to warm their beds at night before they hopped into them.
We moved along to the 1910 Steel Mill Workers home. This particular
room is very dark to help demonstrate the mood back then, due to no
electricity, and the smoggy air from the steel mills. I explained
to the children that this was not a very happy time in Pittsburgh,
as the Industrial Revolution was coming about and many laborers were
needed to work in the mills. The inhabitants of Pittsburgh did not
want to work in them, so many immigrants came over to work. (Although
work in the mills was horrible, it was still a better life than had
they stayed in their home lands.) The rate of pay was horrible (about
16 cents/hour, for 12 hour work days, on and off). These men tried
anything to make ends meet, so many of them would house bunches of
roommates to live with them (called boarders) in order to help with
the rent of their row house. They would come back from their shifts
and go to the bed that the other men waking up for the second shifts
had lain in.
I had the children discuss the differences in this house (scene of
kitchen). We commented on the stove and its counter space, and the
dishes, and lunch pail. The kitchen had a kerosene lamp, and other
items to help the standard of living, compared to the 1700's home.
Friday, July 19, 02
My internship at the Senator John Heinz Historical Center was, of
course, a great experience. I am happy that I pursued this museum,
as I had never been in there previous to my internship. I had high
expectations for a new and challenging experience. These expectations
were fulfilled in solidifying my capacity of historical information,
as well as learning new information. Learning different techniques
in how to relay this information to various and diverse groups was
the second part of a two-part challenge. Finally, I was able to put
everything together, from shadowing docents, taking notes, listening,
and doing. This internship helped to boost my confidence in preparing
to learn more about history in my last year of school at Behrend and
to prepare me for the educational side, where I can put my historical
information to use in teaching others what I know.