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An internship report detailing a student's experience in the Promotions and Events Department at Baylor University's Mayborn Museum Complex during the summer of 2013. The student managed teen volunteers, gained experience in various aspects of promotions and events, and reflected on the importance of communication and collaboration in a museum setting.
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Abstract This internship was at the Mayborn Museum Complex, a part of Baylor University, in Waco, Texas and was completed in the summer of 2013. I interned in the Promotions and Events Department full- time for ten weeks. My main responsibility was managing teen volunteers. I also participated in other aspects of promotions and events, including membership processing, taking promotional photographs of the museum, assisting in event planning, and giving tours.
Engage, Explore, Enjoy: An Internship at the Mayborn Museum Complex by Anastasia Elise Embry, B.G.S. An Internship Approved by the Department of Museum Studies
Dr. Kenneth Hafertepe, Chairperson Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved by the Internship Chairperson
Ellie Caston, Ph.D., Chairperson
My experience in the internship was ripe with learning opportunities. Not only did I learn a lot about managing teen volunteers, I also gained experience in other areas of promotions and events, and I completed the internship feeling that I had grown professionally. I documented these experiences in a weekly journal which I discussed with my faculty advisor. The director of the MMC, Dr. Ellie Caston, is also a Museum Studies professor and acted as my advisor throughout the internship. I turned in my journal to her at the end of the summer. Although she is the MMC director, Dr. Caston reassured me that she would read the journal not as the director, but as my professor. She also said that if I had any quandaries to write about, no one would be reprimanded as a result of anything I had written. This was most helpful as it allowed me to write freely. Writing in the journal gave me the ability to later recall the learning experiences I had and reflect on what I did correctly or what I could have done better. The overarching theme of my journal can be summed up in a sentence repeated throughout it: “Communication is key!” The communication flow of the MMC was something I had to learn on day one. Staff within the different departments communicate with other departments through the proper channels. For example, as the Promotions and Events intern, I could not email a member of the Visitor Experience Department about sitting in on their meetings without first emailing my supervisor, Carol Nowlin, the coordinator of volunteers and events, who would then contact the assistant director for Promotions and Events, who would then communicate with the assistant director of the Visitor Experience Department. At first this did not make a whole lot of sense to me. On days when the Visitor Experience Department desperately needed help getting tours started, Becky Hansen, the assistant coordinator of volunteers, and I would jump right in without giving it a second thought. Becky said it was her understanding that although it is best to go through the proper channels of communication, we should also help each other out in times of need. This was a gray area that I had trouble processing at first. But by the end of summer, I realized the importance of the MMC's communication flow. It kept everyone on the same page. However, sometimes we had to make judgement calls that required us to break with this protocol and that was
okay. I learned that in the work environment, the best solution is not always going to be perfect. After I had a couple of weeks to settle into my duties, I started spending Mondays integrating other areas of the Promotions and Events Department into my experience outside of volunteer management. I processed memberships, took promotional photographs of the museum, spent time learning about event planning, and ended the day with the assistant director, Mark Smith. One afternoon, Mark showed me some of his public relations duties. This included contacting the local newspapers to ensure that they had all the correct information to publish about upcoming MMC events. A lightbulb went off for me when I realized that I had done the exact same thing as a volunteer for the Historic Waco Foundation, in Waco, Texas. Prior to that day, if I had been asked whether or not I had promotional or public relations experience, I would have said no. “Pretty exciting realization” was what I wrote in my journal that evening. Since then, I have been reviewing past work and volunteer experience to see if I have any other hidden skills. Spending Mondays with the rest of the department was a nice break from managing the teens. However, working with these adolescents brought its own set of challenges from which I learned a lot. The teen volunteers did not arrive until three weeks into the internship. I spent this time preparing their manuals, making name tags, and entering their information into Volgistics, the online volunteer management database the MMC utilizes. Once the teens arrived, Carol, Becky, and I had four days in a row where we trained them on museum policies and procedures and on how to give tours. After the teens started giving tours, I was responsible for checking on them and making sure that the tours ran smoothly. The teens also helped with special activity days, which took place every Wednesday. On one of these special activity days, I got yet another lesson in the importance of communication. On this particular Wednesday Becky was on vacation, so I was in charge of a half-dozen high school- aged volunteers. About an hour into their volunteer shifts, I asked each teen if they would like to take a break while I manned his or her station. They all declined. A few minutes later, as I was making my rounds at the museum, I realized most of the volunteers were missing. I eventually found four of them
had no choice but to step up and make important decisions. I could not have gotten though this day without practicing good communication and strategizing with members of the Visitor Experience Department. I went home that evening feeling confident in myself and my abilities as a leader. I later had the chance to reflect on this and the rest of the learning experiences during my final evaluation at the end of the summer. This evaluation took place the last week of the internship. I evaluated myself, my supervisors, and the internship itself. My supervisors evaluated me and then we discussed what conclusions we had come to and submitted our thoughts to Dr. Caston. At first I described the process in my journal as “excruciating;” however, after the evaluation was complete, I stated that “It ended up being a valuable exercise.” I found it beneficial because I had to really think about what I had accomplished over the ten weeks of the internship. I had accomplished more than I realized. The assessment also gave me the opportunity to pinpoint areas that I needed to improve upon. It was equally enlightening sitting down with Becky and Carol and reading what they had to say about my work. I have been evaluated by employers before, but this was the first time I had ever had the opportunity to thoroughly discuss my performance. Hearing their full critique gave me the tools I needed to continue the learning process long after the internship had ended. Assessing my supervisors was also something I had never done. I felt that they valued the feedback I gave them. I hope if I am ever a supervisor, that I will have the opportunity to receive feedback from my staff. The final step in the evaluation was for me to give them recommendations on what they can do to improve future interns' experiences. One of my recommendations was that they begin integrating the intern into the all aspects of the Promotions and Events Department on the first week of the internship, rather than waiting for the third week like they did with me. I also recommended that they have small projects planned ahead of time for the intern to work on during slow days when there are not any tours scheduled. Carol and Becky were genuinely interested in the suggestions I made. This further reinforced the importance of the evaluation process.
I realized by the end of the internship that my career goals lie in the promotions and events area of the museum field. I feel that I can now enter the museum workforce and be taken seriously. The Promotions and Events Internship at the Mayborn Museum Complex was challenging from start to finish, but those challenges brought many learning experiences and I am a better person for having them.
