09 Jul The Places, The experiences, The People
Hello again!
As we count down the days until the end of my internship I want to share with you all what my favorite part of this internship is. ( Hint: it is not the humidity or the surprise summer rainstorms).
As I think about what my favorite part is I want to share with you something I have realized along the way. There is value in the work I am doing here at Independence National Historical Park, but more importantly there is value in having a member of the Latino community here. It really helps people feel more comfortable seeing someone like them working for the National Parks Service and speaking Spanish. This realization of the important work we are doing as interns with each of our individual projects has helped me become more passionate about the internship and the work I want to do in the future.
To simplify everything: I connected the dots and I am even more appreciative of this internship opportunity.
So, what is my favorite part of the internship?
For one, it’s the park itself because Independence Hall is a notable place and Philadelphia has such a rich history. The Liberty Bell is such an iconic symbol of liberty throughout the world that seeing how many people come to see it is amazing. Getting to work here is definitely a dream come true because I have always wanted to come here and now I see everything here almost everyday.
I would also like to say it’s the project I have been working on and the visitor engagement aspect of my internship. I love talking to people, getting to know where they’re from and helping them plan their visit or add to it. We finally launched the new Junior Ranger Map and being a part of it has been so fun.
If I’m being completely honest, although I love both of these aspects of my internship there are two things I love even more: the people I have met here in the park and the knowledge I have gained.
As I like to say, everything is a learning experience whether it’s good or bad. And I love learning so the fact that I get to learn something new every day that I am here has been a lot to take in but definitely one of my favorite experiences.
Tied with the learning experiences, my favorite part of this internship has been the people I work with. Starting with my amazing supervisor, Renee, who laughs at my terrible puns and lets me chat her ear off and has been an amazing support. I have also had the opportunity to meet many of the Park Rangers and Park guides all of whom are some of the kindest and coolest people I have met. They have welcomed me and also let me talk all the time and getting to know about how they started working for the National Parks has helped me along the way. I love everyone here and could not ask for better colleagues to work with, they are truly the best and they love what they do.
Getting to talk to the staff here, talk to and help visitors, and learning more about the park are the highlights of my work days have made me love my internship even more.
So all in all, my favorite part of the internship has been pretty much everything. Some days are better than others with ups and downs but I could not have asked for a better place to be an intern. I will certainly miss everyone and everything here when the time comes to leave.
Until then I will enjoy everything I can as I look forward to presenting my project in Washington D.C!
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