Happy Independence Day! (And Happy Birthday Mom!) Today we’re celebrating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Though I’m sure you’re showing your patriotism, chances are that your celebration includes some combination of barbecuing, beach, beer, baseball, and blowing stuff up. The Daughters of the American Revolution take the Fourth of July a little more seriously. They’re a “non-profit, non-political volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America’s future through better education for children.” They restrict membership to women “who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution,” so they also happen to be “one of the most inclusive genealogical societies in the country” with 165,000 members. I’ve seen the DAR march in my town’s Memorial Day parade, but their work goes far beyond making public appearances. Continue reading about Daughters of the American Revolution…
Since I’m going to have a non-profit for you tomorrow, let’s start celebrating the Fourth of July today. Now, I know that you probably have fireworks, the beach, hot dogs, and hamburgers on your mind, but let’s take a minute to appreciate the Declaration of Independence. It’s the best “I Quit” letter in the history of the world. It’s like that letter that you wrote to your parents when you were 14 and decided that you were moving out, except it isn’t completely nonsensical. The Declaration of Independence has a lot to do with why this country is so great, so I hope that you’ll take a minute to give it a read today. And where do you go if you want to read the Declaration of Independence? The National Archives, of course! You can see the original document in all its glory, or you can check out a more readable version. If you’re not familiar with what the National Archives is, basically they “are the nation’s record keeper.” They preserve and keep forever 1%-3% of our government’s documents for both legal and historical reasons. Continue reading about National Archives…
Memorial Day is one of my favorite holidays—not only because it signifies the start of summer, but also because I love small town patriotism. My hometown always has a fantastic parade that is often accompanied by a fighter jet fly over. Now, today’s employer may not immediately make you think of Memorial Day like last year’s did (it was Weber-Stephen, the manufacturer of my favorite charcoal grills), but you’ll realize pretty quickly why the National Park Service is a great choice for today. Not only are some of the parks that they manage great places to celebrate the Memorial Day weekend outdoors, but they’re also responsible for quite a few memorials including The Marine Corps War Memorial, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, The Korean War Veterans Memorial, and The World War II Memorial. Memorial Day is really about our fallen heroes, and the National Park Service is constantly working to honor them by maintaining and managing our memorials. Continue reading about National Park Service…
Yesterday we wrote about The Cleveland Foundation’s Internships because they asked us to (and the internships looked great). Today we’re writing about internships at WTTW11, a local PBS station in Chicago, because one of their former interns e-mailed us to let us know that he highly recommended interning with them. We’ve looked at internships at PBS and we’ve also looked at internships with American Documentary before, so today’s internships should be similar to those. That’s because WTTW11 is a major local PBS affiliate that produces a number of its own shows. They have some major projects going on, and they need lots of interns to help out. They work on both local and national productions, and both are of impressive quality. This isn’t some tiny tv station – they’re producing shows that can be seen across all PBS stations (in the past they’ve produced classics like Lamb Chop’s Play Along and The Frugal Gourmet). Continue reading about WTTW11…
Back when I was in high school (yes, part of that was in the 90s), I thought that I was really savvy when it came to using the Web to do better in my English classes. I found online, public-domain versions of many of the books that I was reading. The best part was that these were searchable, so if I needed to find a quote or a specific passage, all I had to do was remember a key word or two. It was fantastic. A lot has changed since then, and I don’t even know the extent of what academic resources are available online now. What I do know is that it’s not fair that today’s students have access to sites like Shmoop, when I couldn’t even dream of something like it. What is Shmoop? It’s hard for me to describe briefly, so maybe you should take the Tour de Shmoop. Continue reading about Shmoop…
I bet that you have some friends whom you can listen to for hours – friends who can straight up tell a story. Whenever they speak, people listen. I bet that you also have friends (or quite possibly professors) who can make any story boring, no matter how good the facts of the story actually are. Storytelling is an art, but it’s also a skill that can be learned. It’s essential to making friends, getting internships, and persuading people. Everybody loves a good storyteller, and that’s why StoryCorps, an independent non-profit, is focused on honoring and celebrating people’s lives through listening. Here’s the story on StoryCorps and their internship opportunities. Continue reading about StoryCorps…
Do you love history? Are you fascinated by the past? Can you spend hours with your nose in a historical biography and not even realize it? If so, an internship with the New York Historical Society might be a great way to spend part of your fall. Whether you’re a history major who is seriously focused on historical research or a graphic design student who happens to be a history buff, the New York Historical Society has something for you.
The Society is dedicated to presenting exhibitions and public programs, and fostering research that reveal the dynamism of history and its influence on the world of today. Founded in 1804, its holdings cover four centuries of American history, and include one of the world’s greatest collections of historical artifacts, American art and other materials documenting the history of the United States as seen through the prism of New York City and State.
Continue reading about New York Historical Society…
We don’t even know where to get started, for we’re a bit overwhelmed. The Smithsonian Institution has the most comprehensive internships website that we have ever come across. If you don’t already know, the Smithsonian is an institution that was founded by a gift from a British Scientist named James Smithson.
I then bequeath the whole of my property…to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge…
He had never been to America, so it’s quite puzzling that he made such a gift. Some people say it was his final swipe at the rigidities of British society. Since the gift was made to our federal government, the Smithsonian is a government institution (not a non-profit organization, like you might have thought it was). You will find the Smithsonian working in a wide variety of areas to increase the knowledge of the American people, and this means that they have internships in a jaw dropping number of fields. Continue reading about Smithsonian Institution…
