Nathan Schaefer

Majors: History and Anthropology

Intern at the Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology, Indiana DNR

How did you learn about this internship opportunity?

I was applying for several Museum or Historical Preservation related internships and I stumbled upon the Indiana DHPA website which had a posting for summer internships attracting a wide range of areas of interests. The ones that caught my eye were those about working with archival material and documents as well as the possibility of several "field days."

How has your internship helped build your skills and clarify your career goals? How did being a Liberal Arts student at Purdue apply to your internship?

I think the most informative part about my internship was not only all the knowledge and experience I gained regarding historical preservation but also being able to appreciate being in a workplace setting with many like-minded people who all really cared about the work they did and that inspired me further to pursue my own path.

What is a piece of advice you would give someone in your major looking for an internship?

If you have an opportunity to do any kind of internship work, do it. Even if you end up not liking the work that you do, you are still learning valuable information on the area that you wouldn't be able to get from just a classroom. Internships are also a setting where it's encouraged to experiment and find out what work really speaks to you and what work doesn't. Unless you are already set on an internship being the gateway to your specific career, view the internship as an opportunity to grow in your skills as well as finding what fits for you.

What key responsibilities or tasks have you taken on during your internship?

I was involved with helping with a lot of the work of several projects that were being worked on in our office such as document cataloguing, mapping, and even archival work. Several personal projects were also tasked to mainly involving writing several media posts and articles. We also were given several opportunities to be more actively involved like when we took a day to help out with the Crown Hill Cemetary, State Fair, or just simply shadowing important meetings or events.

In what ways has the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue University supported your internship journey? How has your participation in our job-ready program specifically aided your professional development?

The Job-Ready Program really supported my specific internship immensely as mine was unpaid. As a CLA student, making boat-loads of money is nowhere near as high a priority as having a fulfilling and positively impactful career, so any financial support such as the Job-Ready Program is a greatly appreciated resource which I highly recommend anyone to apply for.

Could you highlight a standout aspect of your experience in this program that you find particularly noteworthy?

Being apart of the Instagram Takeover was initially a very daunting idea to me as I never do anything social media related like that, but as I began to do it I started to realize that this was a really unique opportunity for me to just talk about the experience that I really enjoyed and have great interest in; as well as the possibility that my words might be able to inspire others to pursue their passions and take that leap to try something new.