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Because of my internship, I am more prepared for my future career. Over the course of the past two semesters, I have had the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally as a result of my internship with the National Collections Program of the Smithsonian Institution. This internship has given me a variety of opportunities that I otherwise would not have had. Throughout the course of my internship, I have had the opportunity to work collaboratively as part of a working group to create a collections based hazards flipbook, that will serve as a resource to a variety of different collections institutes in maintaining and properly handling hazardous materials in their collections. Overall, I believe that the skills I have learned as a result of working on this project, will be useful to me in any future career I have in the digital humanities or as a historian.

At the start of my internship last semester, I was skeptical about doing an internship virtually. I wondered if I would get the same kind of experience out of a virtual internship as I did with the two in person internship I completed as an undergrad student. I was worried that I would not be able to develop the same kind of connections with my mentor and the other members of the working groups I was on since we were not going to be working together in person. However, now reaching the end of my internship, I realized that I was able to make the same connections with various individuals as I would have with an in person internship. Even though I was not working in person, I still was able to get to know my internship mentors and the members of my working group through our regular weekly meetings and our occasional in person gatherings. These both made me feel like I was a part of the team even if I was not working with these people in person.

In addition to getting to know and work with a fantastic group of people, I also gained a variety of new skills that I can use for a future career in the digital humanities. Through my work in helping to create a collections based hazards flipbook, I have had the opportunity to practice the skills of working collaboratively with other team members to create a project that will hopefully be useful to a variety of different individuals working with collections items. Over the two semesters of my internship I have been given a variety of different tasks that have been an important part of creating the final flipbook that will be published this summer on the National Collections Program’s website. These tasks have taught me the importance of time management and personal responsibility in completing tasks when other members of your team are relying on your work.

Overall, my internship has been an overwhelmingly positive experience and I am grateful for the opportunity to have participated in it. I am also grateful for the opportunity to put all of the skills and knowledge I learned throughout the various courses of the Graduate Certificate in Digital Public Humanities program to practical use to create a project that will hopefully have a long term and lasting impact.

Throughout the course of my internship with the National Collections Program of the Smithsonian Institute, I have gained new insights into working in the field of digital public humanities. Through my work as part of team creating a collections based hazards flipbook, I have participated in created an online resource that can be used in a wide variety of different collection types. I have been able to see how much time and effort goes into creating a quality digital public humanities project and the value that these types of projects can have to a wider community.

One of the most important insights about working in digital public humanities from this internship, is the importance of collaborative team work. With the work I have done as part of my internship, I have been able to see first hand the importance of having a team where everyone works together and has their own individual roles to play for the project to be completed. For the collections based hazards flipbook, each member of our working group has been given a very specific set of tasks to accomplish in order to move the project along during various stages of its development. For me specifically, these tasks have included finding a platform to use to publish the flipbook on the National Collections Program’s website, writing up draft language about the flipbook to be used when it is published on the website, reaching out to and collection Job Hazard Analyzes from various Unit Safety Coordinators, and currently I am working on collecting images of the various collections based hazards that are included in the flipbook. I have been able to see the importance of all the tasks that I have been assigned throughout my internship in created the final product that will be published on the National Collections Program’s website this summer. I understand how my failure to complete any of the tasks that I have been assigned can set the entire project back and can affect all the members of the working group and not just me.

As a result of my internship experience, I would be interested in seeing how feedback given on a project, like the collections based hazards flipbook, can be used to improve the and make the project better. After spending so much time and effort on this project I am generally interested in observing how the flipbook is received by the collections community. I would like to know what they like and find helpful about the flipbook, and what elements of it should be changed.

Throughout my internship experience with the National Collections Program at the Smithsonian Institution, I have been able to put to practical use a wide variety of the skills and knowledge that I acquired through the course of the graduate certificate program. These skills have largely focused on the areas of working collaboratively with others and presenting work online to a diverse audience. I have also found through my internship work, that there is a lot of behind the scenes elements to collections management that I was previously unaware of.

One of the main skills that was repeatedly emphasized throughout the different certificate courses, was the collaborative nature of digital humanities work. The ability to create larger scale projects through the combined efforts of individuals with different backgrounds and expertise is what makes digital humanities stand out as a field. I have been able to participate in and practice the skills of collaborative work first hand as a member of the working group putting together a collections based hazards flipbook based on the collections of the Smithsonian Institution. For me personally, this has been a new experience as I have never before worked on a project that consisted of many different individuals all contributing to one final product. I found that reading about collaborative projects and actually working on one are very different. For me personally, the readings I did as part of the various certificate courses did not give me a complete picture of what it would be like to work on a collaborative group project. I found that what worked best was to just jump into the project and that if I had any questions or concerns along the way to just ask.

The other main skill that I have used throughout the work I have done for my internship is how to present work online to a diverse audience. Another element of digital humanities that was emphasized throughout the course work, was having projects accessible online that can be accessed by diverse audiences. I have been able to put this skill to practical use through the creation of a collections based hazards flipbook that will be published on the National Collections Program’s website and accessible to the entire collections community. When I created my own digital humanities projects that I published online, my target audience was more flexible and as a result I had more flexibility with how I structured and presented my project. With the work for my internship, there is a very specific audience that the flipbook is intended for. As a result, the choices of how to best present the project online need to be carefully considered in order to make sure the flipbook reaches its desired audience.

The work I have done for my internship has also demonstrated to me that there is a lot of behind the scenes elements that go into the management of various collections. My internship project has taught me that there are a variety of different hazards that are associated with different collections types and that these hazards need to be carefully dealt with. I have found that for organizations like the Smithsonian, that a lot of proper care and effort goes into the maintenance of various collections. There are various teams, the National Collections Program that I am working with, whose job it is to make sure that the collections of the Smithsonian Institution are preserved for generations to come.

Overall, my experience so far as an intern with the National Collections Program at the Smithsonian Institution has been an enjoyable one. I have enjoyed being a part of the collaborative effort to create a collections based hazards flipbook that will serve as a resource to not just the Smithsonian community, but to a much larger audience that deals with collections management at a variety of different institutions and organizations. All of the skills I have learned working on this project will serve me well as I move forward in my professional career after completing my masters degree.

For me personally, what has been eye-opening about my internship so far is the the amount of work and collaborative effort that goes into creating a project like the collections based hazards flipbook. Going into this project I was unaware of all the different technical elements that are a part of any large scale project like the creation of this flipbook. What I have discovered is that there are a multitude of different decisions that have to be made at every step in the process that will affect the final product that will be published on the National Collections Program’s website in the late spring/early summer. These decisions included: how to best collect and store the information on various collections based hazards, what information about the hazards should and should not be included as part of the data set, and what is the best way to present the data set on the National Collections Program’s website so that it can be accessed by the general public. All of these decisions were carefully decided while keeping the overall goals and objectives of the project in mind.

The expectations that I initially had when I started this internship back in August have definitely changed now that I am half-way through the internship. These changes have been positive and have allowed me to take away many practical skills and experiences from this internship. Initially, I expected to be working as more of an assistant on the flipbook project. I thought that I would be given some small simple tasks that just needed to be done for the project. Instead, I have actually become an integral part of the team to create this collections based hazards flipbook. I have been able to voice my opinions and to be a part of the major decisions that have been made about the project along the way. In addition, I have also been put in charge of various important tasks that will make up crucial elements of the final flipbook project that is published on the National Collections Program’s website. Recently, I was put in charge of drafting the introductory text about the project that will be included when the flipbook is published online. In addition, I have also been put in charge of emailing all of the Unit Safety Coordinators at the Smithsonian in order to receive Job Hazard Analyses (JHAs) about different jobs dealing with collections. These tasks have helped me to really be able to see my contribution to the collections based hazards flipbook project, and have also provided me with valuable skills that I will use in my future career.

Over the course of this past semester, I have had the opportunity to intern with the National Collections Program at the Smithsonian Institution. For my internship, I have been working as part of a team to create a collections based hazards flipbook, that will be published on the National Collections Program’s website for use both within the Smithsonian Institution and by the general public. Overall, I have both enjoyed the work that I have done on the flipbook project, and working with the other members of the working group putting together the flipbook.

Throughout the course of the semester, there are a number of different tasks that I have been able to successfully complete. The most important of these tasks has been to successfully work with and effectively communicate with the other members of the flipbook working group. As part of this internship, I have been able to experience working as part of a team where everyone has different backgrounds, and everyone possesses different knowledge that is needed to complete the project. From this I have learned to value and rely on the feedback and knowledge of others to accomplish a common goal. Over the course of this past semester, I have also been able to successfully manage my time to complete all of the work expected of me for this internship. I have found ways to budget my time so that I am able to devote enough time to completing the work that I need to for my internship.

Even with this internship being both successful and rewarding, it has not been without its challenges. Time management has definitely been a challenge for me this semester in completing various tasks for my internship. As I mentioned in my previous reflection post, this semester in addition to this internship, I am also taking another graduate history class and working a full time job. All of this leaves me with very limited schedule. I have addressed this challenge by setting aside specific time slots where I will do work for my internship. This has helped me to stay on top of my work and make sure that I get done what needs to get done. In addition, the other major challenge I have faced this semester is the fact that this internship is entirely remote. This is different than previous internship I had as an undergraduate that were in person. It has been challenging to adapt to an environment where there is no in person interaction with my mentor or the other member of the working group that I am a part of. We have addressed this challenge by having weekly meetings where we check in with each other and get any questions answered that we have. I have also addressed this challenge by emailing my mentor whenever I have a question or am unsure of anything.

Throughout the course of my internship so far with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Collections Program, I have had the opportunity to participate and be a part of a variety of new and unique experiences. These experiences have been different than most of the ones I had as a part of both my undergraduate and graduate careers. As a result, these experiences have pushed me to develop a variety of new skills to meet the expectations of what is required of me for this internship.

Out of all the skills I have developed so far, the most important one has been time management. As both an undergraduate and graduate student, I have struggled with procrastinating and putting off work until the last minute. It has always been important for me to stay on top of my work, but that has become even more relevant this semester with my busy schedule. This semester in addition to the work I have to do for my internship, I am also taking another graduate history class, that requires me to do a significant amount of reading and writing each week. In addition to that, I also work a full time job forty hours a week. With my life being so busy I found that it has been very important for me to effectively manage my time to be able to get all of my work done for my internship. I have found that planning out my day and giving myself set times to accomplish certain tasks has been effective at keeping me focused and on track to get my work done.

Another skill that I have developed so far is learning to be flexible and open to changes and suggestions from other people. For the Collections Based Hazards Flipbook project that I am working on, I am part of a team of individuals that is all working to complete this one project. An important part of working with this team has been to be open to feedback and suggestions that they have about the work I have done on the project. Originally we were planning on using Microsoft Access to publish the dataset we had on the National Collections Program’s website, and I had been researching information and spending time learning how to use Microsoft Access. Recently though, we decided that Microsoft Access was not the best tool to use in publishing the database online. As a result, I had to shift my focus away from learning and researching about Access to focusing on a new software. I have learned from this to both be flexible and be willing to change as things out of my control happen.

Going forward, I plan on learning and developing on few new skills that will help me with my work on the Flipbook project. I will be learning more about how to use and work with both Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Teams. Both of these programs we have identified as potential ways of publishing the database we have online. To be able to effectively use these two programs I will be taking some online courses and working with both Teams and Excel to learn how they could be useful to the project’s goal of getting a Collections Based Hazards Flipbook on the National Collections Program’s website that can be accessed by the general public.

Overall, my experience so far as an intern for the National Collections Program of the Smithsonian Institution has been both a positive and an interesting one. I have enjoyed the work that I have been assigned, and the people that I get to work and collaborate with. What I have enjoyed the most about my internship experience so far is all of the different opportunities that are available to me because of working with both the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Institution. Since the beginning of my internship, my mentor Sam Snell has continually communicated to me all of the different conferences and people that I can connect with throughout the Smithsonian. Last week on October 4th and 5th I was a able to attend the National Conference on Cultural Property Protection, and learn more about the challenges that come with preserving and protecting cultural property. Next week on October 19th I will be attending the 2021 Safety and Cultural Heritage Summit where members of the project team I am working on will be giving a presentation. Attending both of these conferences have and will allow me to learn about different topics that I have not previously learned about.

One thing that I have started to do and would like to continue to do, is to utilize the connections that my mentor Sam has with individuals throughout various office and departments of the Smithsonian Institution to find out more about careers in my particular areas of interest. From the start of my internship, Sam has continually offered to introduce me to and put me in contact with any of her colleagues that I may be interested in meeting and discussing what their job entails. I recently took her up on the offer and let her know what type of individuals I would be interested in meeting in order to discuss what they do and how they got to their current positions. Once Sam provides me the information of the individuals she knows, I want to reach out and meet with these individuals to find out more about possible future careers for myself.

Throughout my internship so far, it has been reinforced that I do have a certain work style preferences. I prefer to have a set list of tasks that need to be completed by a certain time. For me, having a set lists of things that I want to accomplish helps me to focus and stay on track of my work. As someone with ADHD I have found that I need structure in order to be able to complete my work, and what has worked for me is to give myself a specific set of tasks that I need to complete in a certain amount of time. This practice, that I have used throughout my academic life, has continued to work well for me so far during my internship to ensure that I complete the work that is expected of me.

As part of the Graduate Certificate in Digital Public Humanities, I will be working as an intern with the National Collections Program of the Smithsonian Institution during the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 semesters. As the National Collections Program’s website states, “The National Collections Program (NCP) is dedicated to improving the overall stewardship and management of Smithsonian collections, providing central leadership, policy oversight, strategic planning, and support to Institution-wide collections initiatives.” The role of the National Collections Program is to provide a central coordinating link between all of the different collecting units located throughout the Smithsonian Institution. These collecting units can be found at the different museums and research centers that make up the Smithsonian Institution. NCP is responsible for the creation and implementation of collections management policies and collections stewardship plans. In addition, NCP is also responsible for creating various educational and training programs on collections.

As an intern for the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 semesters, I will be responsible for working with a working group made up of individuals from across the Smithsonian, on one of the National Collections Program’s ongoing projects, the creation of a Collections Based Hazard Flipbook. The Flipbook is intended to be a reference guide that anyone working with different types of collections. It will provide information on the different types of collections based hazards, what type of items/collections they can be found in, what type of PPE is needed to protect against the hazard, and the level of risk for the different types of hazards. All of the data necessary for the creation of the actual flipbook has already been gathered from the various collecting units and compiled into an excel sheet. My role in the project, is to take the information contained in the excel sheet and convert it into both an open-access digital database that can be published on the NCP website, and also a hard copy flipbook that can be kept in collections spaces and emergency carts. The goal of the project is to create a web-based tool that individuals, both inside and outside the Smithsonian, can access for reference, print out copies of the information relevant to their needs, and allow new information to be added to the database after it has been approved by an expert.  This project is part of an effort by the NCP to encourage the sharing of information and resources in the field of collections management.

I am most excited to be able to put to use the skills I have learned throughout the course of the Digital Public Humanities certificate to practical use. This project provides me with the opportunity to work as part of a team of individuals with diverse professional background to create reference tool that will help to facilitate collections management across the various collections of the Smithsonian Institution.