It seems just yesterday that we began the semester and began discussing our various internships. I know I was a bit fearful about what to expect going into the experience, especially since I am working with such an important institution as the Smithsonian. However, since we are almost halfway through our internship, it is a good time to reflect on what has been successful thus far and what can be reevaluated and improved.

One of the most successful aspects of my work thus far is that I have made it a point to ask questions during my meetings with my internship supervisor and to find ways to expand on the work I was already doing. One example is that, in evaluating and examining the materials from the 1976 Folklife Festival, I selected articles from the program book and entered them into Voyant to create a word cloud. I then presented this to my supervisor, and she was very impressed by what digital tools we could include in our final project. I have also been relatively successful at adjusting to various barriers, the largest being the most extended government shutdown in our nation’s history.  Thankfully, my internship was not largely affected, but many of those who worked at the center where I am interning were out of work, and some of the resources I needed were unavailable.

Most importantly, I had to adapt and learn to use the digital archive management system on my own because all the training sessions were cancelled. This forced me to adapt quickly, as I was tasked with finding sources in a database with over 54 million items. Now that the government is open again, I am free to ask questions to experts in this field who have given me great relief.

As for challenges and areas I can continue to improve throughout the rest of the internship, the greatest has been balancing all my responsibilities. Outside of the internship, I am working on my dissertation prospectus and two podcasts while also co-leading a class with my advisor. These responsibilities have piled up a bit, adding further stress to my life. That being said, after the first of the year, I hope to have a bit more time to focus on a few things and avoid taking on too many projects. I plan to implement a much more structured schedule for the rest of the internship to reduce my overwhelm. However, even with these extra responsibilities, I have remained very structured and diligent in my internship work and find it a welcome escape from my other tasks.  Another challenge I can address is improving my ability to identify viable sources in the archive. The sheer amount of information and number of sources has been a bit of a learning curve, but as I continue to work with DAMS, I feel that my process will improve.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my internship thus far and am excited to continue learning and growing.