Experiential Learning Portfolio - Lee Simpson
Remote Internships
Brief description of your focus area/project:
The Pandemic of 2020 created fundamental challenges to traditional internship programming. While the disruptions to students, faculty, and community partners has been extreme, the shift to remote operations provides us with an invaluable opportunity to rethink how we conduct internships and whom we serve (or underserve). The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and the National Council on Public History (NCPH) have prioritized monitoring internship experiences and sharing their observations, analysis, and insight with the public.
Both NACE and NCPH identify the single most important component of a successful internship (whether remote or in person): direct, meaningful, and frequent communication between the interns, site supervisors and university faculty. This type of contact becomes even more essential when shifting to remote operations. Using the example of Campbell Soup Company internships, NACE identifies the following best practices to keep interns engaged remotely:
- Establish structured check-ins with the interns, their supervisors, and instructors
- Offer virtual coffee or lunch chats for more informal community conversations
- Offer virtual games as a way for interns to learn about the company/business and build community
Likewise, NCPH recommends developing creative digital projects for public history interns. If they cannot be in a building to process an archival collection or create physical exhibits, they can harness the power of existing digital collections to develop innovative and integrative finding aids, exhibits, blogs, etc., which meet the mission of the public historian: “to identity obscure content, amplify untold stories, and bring them to life.”
Photo(s) or graphic representation(s) of your focus:
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NPS Digital History Project |
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"Keeping Interns Engaged Remotely" - NACE May 5, 2020 |
Documentation: upload and create a link to your deliverable:
HONR 195 syllabus Spring 2021 Download HONR 195 syllabus Spring 2021
HONR 195 assignment instructions Download HONR 195 assignment instructions
Faculty Photo and Short Bio:
Lee Simpson is a Professor of History and Director of the GE Honors Program. She has directed internships for undergraduate and graduate students in Public History and in the Honors Program's Global Engagement and Leadership major/minor.