an update from my summer 2021 hybrid intern Tabitha Masters

For my final semester at CMU, I was a hybrid intern at the Clarke Historical Library under archivist Marian Matyn. (Hybrid here means Tabitha completed part of her internship in the Clarke and the rest online.)I was wrapping up my undergrad feeling a bit lost, not knowing what my next step after graduation would be. I enjoyed my studies, but lacked experience in any relevant fields, and COVID-19 only made it harder to move forward. My internship at the Clarke was the jumpstart I needed to get excited about my future. During my time there I processed material for the first time, organized existing information, and creating finding aids, while taking in supplemental information from Marian. My experience at the Clarke pushed me towards the decision to further pursue a career in the archival world and I begin working towards my master’s degree in Library and Information Sciences at Wayne State University. I am now wrapping up my first semester of graduate school and am currently interning at under the archivist at the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farms in the historic district of Stoney Creek Village. While much of my internship at the Clarke was online, it prepared me for the hands-on work I am currently doing, such as cataloging, digitizing, and uploading metadata. On a daily basis I get to work with 100+ year old records, photos and newspapers that were created within miles of where I grew up! Having the base of knowledge I established during my internship, as well as in Museum Studies courses and the Archival Administration course at CMU, has helped me transition into my new program. While I still have a lot to learn, I am grateful for the knowledge I have going into these new experiences, and I can’t wait to keep learning more as I as through these next few semesters.