Meet LancasterHistory’s Summer Intern Class of 2024
In June, LancasterHistory welcomed three undergraduate students into our NEH-funded Summer Internship Program. Each intern has been diligently working in one of three museum departments at LancasterHistory on various day-to-day projects as well as a larger research project. In this post, you’ll get to meet each intern and learn about their projects!
Sarah Gehret, Historic Site Management
What Sarah’s Working On
During her time as the Historic Site Management intern, working under the direction of Director of President James Buchanan’s Wheatland, Patrick Clarke, Sarah learned how to give tours of Wheatland to visitors. She’s also spent a portion of her time learning how to care for and clean the artifacts within the home. Sarah had the opportunity to conduct a research project of her choosing, deciding to focus her project on comparing Miss “Hetty” Parker and Lydia Hamilton Smith, the housekeepers of James Buchanan and Thaddeus Stevens respectively, and how their relationship with the families for whom they worked led to their lives mirroring one another.
About Sarah
Sarah is a rising senior at Millersville University where she is a dual major in history and archaeology. Sarah is interested in the different aspects of preserving history and how preservation can bring back the long forgotten stories of the past that deserve to be remembered. After graduating from college, she intends to pursue a job in archaeology and is considering pursuing a master’s degree in archaeology or museum studies. In her free time, Sarah is a feature twirler in her university’s marching band and is a member of her school’s anthropology and theater clubs.
Favorite Internship Moment
Sarah’s favorite moment from her internship was getting to connect more with the local history of Lancaster. From giving tours of Wheatland and learning about the Buchanan family to taking a bus tour discussing the Underground Railroad in Lancaster County, Sarah had a great opportunity to become more acquainted with the stories that shaped not only Lancaster but the country as a whole.
Gabe Musser, Curatorial Intern
What Gabe’s Working On
Gabe has been working with Dr. James McMahon, LancasterHistory Curator and Director of Collections, on relocating historic, three-dimensional objects and updating their records within PastPerfect, museum collections database software. This is because in June, high-density shelving was installed in the Richard C. von Hess Decorative Arts Center, which required all objects within that installation area to be moved out and back in after the installation finished. Gabe has also assisted with moving tall-case (grandfather) clocks and created a collections database for Armstrong Flooring.
About Gabe
Gabe is a junior at Millersville University and majoring in history. He wants to pursue a career in museums as he enjoys history and being in the company of those who also love history. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, playing video games, and spending time with his two dogs.
Favorite Internship Moment
Gabe’s favorite moments in Curatorial involved learning about various objects in the collection when moving them for the high-density storage project. It was fascinating seeing and learning about the different artifacts, including commemorative stamps from Japan to the United States for the 100th anniversary of the Japanese embassy’s visit to the US and a gigantic marble commemorative stone from a Lancaster Fire Company. These objects gave him a sharper interest in discovering more about local and national history around him.
Ezra Vikberg, Archival Services Intern
What Ezra’s Working On
As the Archival Services intern, Ezra is working under LancasterHistory’s Director of Archives & Manuscript Collections, Heather Tennies. Ezra has been working with Congregation Shaarai Shomayim, a local Jewish synagogue, and their digital manuscript collection. Ezra is busy using PastPerfect to catalog the history and administrative records of this Congregation, as well as their graveyard, which was founded in 1747, long before the congregation itself was chartered on November 17, 1856!
About Ezra
Ezra just graduated from the University of Maine at Augusta with their Bachelor’s degree in Information and Library Science. This internship is actually technically their Capstone for that degree! They graduated Summa Cum Laude and with the department award for Student of Distinction. They plan to take a year off to work before heading off to pursue their Master’s in Information and Library Science, with a concentration in Archives and Record Management. Ezra is professionally and academically interested in special collections, book and paper conservation, and preservation. In their free time they love working with traditional handicrafts (weaving, embroidery, bookbinding, etc), listening to podcasts, playing board games with friends, and visiting museums or historical sites.
Favorite Internship Moment
Ezra has been enjoying everything about the internship so far! Their favorites are learning in depth about the items they are cataloging, and the ‘extracurricular’ activities like field trips with the other interns or attending family Bible viewings. They especially enjoyed the field trip to the B.R. Howard Conservation Lab. Getting to speak with a professional in the field and see examples of the types of work they do was fascinating!
It has been wonderful to have this engaged group of young professionals at LancasterHistory this summer! Their program concludes August 1 with us, but we hope they are not strangers and come back often to visit.
If the LancasterHistory NEH Summer Internship program sounds like something you’d be interested in (or an undergraduate college student you know!), you can learn more about the program on our website here.
Support for the LancasterHistory NEH Summer Internship program provided by a
National Endowment for the Humanities We the People Challenge Grant.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed on this website, do not necessarily represent those of
the National Endowment for the Humanities.