Spending this summer interning with the Walton County Heritage Association and Museum was an invaluable experience. This position gave me important exposure to everyday tasks necessary to maintain a local museum. While the academic knowledge I learn in my classes about historical research and public history practices are necessary to be successful in this field, having hands-on experience is crucial for finding meaningful employment in museums, archives, and government offices. Serving at a small, local nonprofit was also incredibly rewarding, and it was a humbling experience to work with other volunteers to preserve and promote Walton County’s local heritage. Many communities in this country are served by museums and historic associations that run entirely on volunteer labor, so public historians must learn to work with these lay stakeholders in pursuing our common goals.
I have learned a great deal of hands-on knowledge throughout this internship. One of my regular duties was to assist the museum docents in manning the front desks and welcoming visitors, which allowed me to practice my oral interpretation skills. Assisting the museum president with organizing and cataloging the museum’s collection was valuable exposure to the difficult decisions that collecting institutions must make when curating their artifacts, especially taking into account finite resources and storage space. My research project on the Captain Fritz steamboat showed me the economic importance of Walton County, especially my own town of Freeport, to the development of West Florida. Most importantly, my grant proposal project for the Florida Department of State helped me develop my grant writing skills and get a better understanding the financial underpinnings of museums and similar institutions. Regardless of where my career takes me after graduation, I will take the lessons I’ve learned this summer with me and continue to build on them through the coming years.
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