We usually have between 8 and 15 American Studies majors out doing internships or community-based projects every term, year-round. I've asked them to introduce themselves to the AMST community and describe their internships and how they connect with their major. Enjoy!
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Hello all,
My name is Kiel Chesley and I am a senior American Studies Major. Last spring I was able to gather internship credits by working for BlueTreeMarketing.com, a company which I helped to start in the summer of 2006. BlueTree assists the fundraising campaigns of non profit organizations through our internet auction software. My internship for the fall consisted of writing countless emails each day to prospective charity organizations; meeting with clients to present the mission of BlueTreeMarketing.com; as well as maintain a website that services clients throughout country.
This spring I will being pairing up with a non profit organization as a student at the University of Maryland and researching their history of fundraising, then providing a conclusive presentation of non profit fundraising opportunities throughout the country, and later consulting this particular organization on future fundraising campaigns.
American studies is the only major that allows me to most successfully pursue my passion for entrepreneurship as well as research a market that I am most interested in while attaining credit for doing so.
Kiel, do you feel you are using anything learned or acquired in AMST in this experience? Are you different from a business major in the same position?
Hey everyone,
My name is Nick Bocchino and I am also a senior this year, graduating this December. After I graduate, I hope to find a job that relates to my interest in the humanities so that I can figure out what I want to go to graduate school for. I'd like to get my Master's degree, but I'm not quite sure in what major. Some options I have been playing with are Museum Studies, Anthropology, Historic Preservation, and, of course, American Studies.
This fall, I am interning at the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in DC. It is a relatively small group of people within the Institution that puts on an annual Folklife Festival on the National Mall every summer. The focus of the Festival is to encourage visitors to interact and engage with the Festival, rather than just be passive observers.
I am working at the CFCH Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9-5 up until Thanksgiving. My job as an intern will be helping with the planning and research for next summer's festival, which will focus on the occupational culture of NASA employees. So far, I've browsed through NASA publications to find material that we can focus on, and added my thoughts to our working annotated bibliography. I am also helping my supervisor curate a traveling exhibit in collaboration with the White House Historical Association focusing on the culture of White House workers.
The internship relates to my work in American Studies in that it requires an interdisciplinary approach to researching and planning. By learning about and analyzing occupational culture, I am also learning about the everyday lives of Americans in specific sub-cultures of our society.
I am looking forward to the work experience I will be getting, and hope that the internship guides me closer to an idea of what I want my eventual career to be.
Hi everyone,
My name is Julie Vachon and similar to Kiel and Nick, I am also a senior American Studies major. My interest is in Interior design and this semester I have been working at an architectural firm in Reston, Virginia called DBI (Design for Business Interiors). Unfortunately the University of Maryland no longer offers a major in the field of Interior Design, however through internships and supplemental schooling I have been able to pursue Interior Design as a career options.
So far my experience at DBI has been incredible. I help experienced designers formulate concepts for their spaces by selecting textures and patterns that reflect individual client needs. I am also gaining valuable experience learning how to use a computer software called Auto CAD that allows a designer to manipulate a space using electronic drawing capabilities.
The interdisciplinary aspect of American Studies has allowed me to expand my understanding of design. I have come to realize that design can be applied to several academic disciplines. For instance, in my sociology classes I examined how design can be a tool for facilitating social interaction. In my Art History class I try to look at how design in the Renaissance and Baroque has been repeated in contemporary design.
When you become passionate about a subject you begin to look for ways in which it can be applied to all aspects of your life. American Studies has given me this opportunity and I feel better prepared to enter the work force because of it.
Hello fellow AMSTers,
My name is Julia Grubman and I am a senior American Studies major with a focus in African American Studies and Sociology. Like some of the other students, I am graduating in December. For my final semester I am interning with the Prince George's Literacy Council under Eden Segal. Some of you might know Eden because she and Jo ran the Boys and Girls Club class last semester.
I am hoping that this internship will give me some insight as to what I might want to do with my life. So far working with the literacy council has been a really great experience. Most of the people in our Advanced English as a Second Language class are from Central America, but we have a couple others from various parts of Africa and also from Vietnam. We mostly work on writing and reading comprehension, but we also work on conversation.
I absolutely love American Studies as a major, and I can't say enough good things about it. I was orginally a Government and Politics major and discovered American Studies by chance through my scholars program. I love how in American Studies I have the opportunity to study a variety of different disciplines and I never get bored with the classes. I also like the emphasis on analysis and discussion. All my classes give me an opportuntiy to hear a variety of different view points.
Hopefully my AMST degree will allow me to have a job that I actual find fulfilling.
Hey everybody,
My name is Sean Mulhall and I am a junior who is majoring in American Studies. I interned over the summer and am continuing to intern this fall with IMP Promotions. IMP is the company that books concerts for 930 club, Merriweather Post Pavillion, The Patriot Center, D.A.R Constitution Hall, The Strathmore and many more venues around the area. My main duties of my internship are to research bands both pop and local and relate the genres of them to bands coming to our area. I do this so we can better promote for our shows. I also help in the advertising campaigns for the shows and many other things similar to this with emphasis on promoting the shows that we book.
I feel that this is a great internship to have with American Studies being my major because it deals with pop culture everyday and it also a very diverse environment because of the different types of shows we book.
Hello everyone,
My name is Jamie Sherman and I am a senior American studies major. This semester I began an America Reads internship through the University of Maryland. With this internship, I go to Springhill Lake Elementary School and mentor first grade students in reading. Throughout my years at University of Maryland I had heard a lot about America Reads and I couldn't be happier that I actually decided to be a part of this amazing program.
The America Reads program has taught me many ways to teach the students effectively and really get them engaged in what they are learning. I hope to work with children after graduation, either through PeaceCorps or AmeriCorps, and this internship is giving me great experience with working in this field.
American Studies is what began my journey through working with students. Last fall I took
AMST 498J, and the entire experience left me knowing that I wanted to 100 percent work with students in a mentor/tutor position. I really love how American Studies allows one to explore their interests and intertwine different disciplines to focus on true interests of the American Studies major personally. I couldn't be more excited to be a part of a major that allows me to mentor students for credit, giving me an opportunity to really taste what my career could possibly end up being like.
My name is Mohammed, I am also a senior American Resident. My interest is in Interior design and this semester I have been working at an architectural firm in Reston, Virginia called DBI (Design for Business Interiors). Unfortunately the University of Maryland no longer offers a major in the field of Interior Design, however through internships and supplemental schooling I have been able to pursue Interior Design as a career options.
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Mohammed
Maryland Drug Addiction
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