Internship Reflection: Western Reserve Historical Society

Internship Reflection Paper

This summer, I interned at the Western Reserve Historical Society. The Western Reserve Historical Society consists of two locations, the Cleveland History Center located in scenic Wade Oval, Cleveland, and Hale Farm and Village located in Bath, Ohio. The Western Reserve Historical Society, founded in 1867, serves to inspire the discovery of the American experience through the exploration of Northeast Ohio’s distinct history. My internship was at the Cleveland History Center. The Cleveland History Center is the main building of the Society, consisting of both their administrative offices and museum on Cleveland history. The museum includes two historic mansions, the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum, and multiple other exhibits. The internship included a weekly class, covering topics on Public History such as museum finance and operations. Specifically, my internship was with the programming and education department. The Society has a “Speakers Bureau”, a series of presentations on Cleveland history that can be booked by the hour. My main project over the summer was updating the PowerPoint presentations they use. This encompassed many aspects of public and academic history. I spent time in the Research Library finding information to add in to the PowerPoints, I tailored

For instance, learning how a professional office runs on a daily basis. I worked in the main administrative offices, meaning I was surrounded by the day-to-day operations of the Historical Society. From helping scan documents, to assisting in event preparation, I gained valuable hands on experience that could serve me in jobs not related to history; this wasn’t solely an academic experience. Experiences like attending the morning meeting or writing business related emails will no doubt serve me well in future