Introducing Our 2016 Summer Interns!
We are so pleased to welcome this summer’s Interns to the Museum! This cohort has spent their week learning about the Museum and diving into their intern projects. You’ll be hearing from them throughout the summer as they explore the world of Museums and the Jewish Museum of Maryland in particular. Below they have kindly introduced themselves in their own words.
Who Am I?
My name is Rachel Morin and I am an Education Intern at the Jewish Museum of Maryland. I grew up in Owings Mills, MD, but I moved to Philadelphia when I was 18 to study at Temple University. I double major in Visual Studies and Advertising and, no, I could not tell you what I want to be when I grow up yet, but I am slowly learning that not knowing is “okay”. That is why I am here; in fact, I had no idea that this is what I would end up doing with my summer. I saw an opportunity and applied for the Exhibitions internship position, but somehow got put into the Education group. I am not sure how this occurred, but I decided to go for it anyway, because any experience builds up your knowledge base, and who am I to deny myself that? As you can see, I love to learn, so that is all I really want from this experience. I hope to be able to apply my experiences and new knowledge to future jobs and I am excited to work with programming and learn what goes into the process of creating community-based projects.
A little about me; I went to George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology where I spent most of my time being trained in the traditional styles of drawing and painting and needless to say it made a big impact. I love to paint surreal imagery and dissect dreams and the human psyche. I am currently trying to transfer my passion to a more digital setting through the practice of Photoshop and Illustrator. Additionally, I love cats, yes really, traveling and tea. I am on my way to becoming a tea connoisseur. Try the Milk Oolong from Capital Teas. You’re welcome.
I’m Alice Wynd, one of this summer’s exhibitions interns! I am going to be a senior at the University of Rochester, but I grew up in Towson, immersed in Baltimore and Maryland culture. When I’m not writing or reading about history, I love to watch movies, play tabletop games, and listen to Hamilton.
During the past two summers, I worked at an archaeological dig in Bermuda, where I had the opportunity to excavate and catalogue artifacts from as early as the 17th century. While I was working in Bermuda, I had the opportunity to lead public tours and design exhibits for our sites, which showed me the importance of presenting our findings to the public. This sparked my interest in museum work, which brought me to the Jewish Museum of Maryland this summer!
This summer, I hope to learn the basics of curatorial work, from the principles of exhibit design to navigating the museum software, and gain an understanding of the process required to create a new exhibit from scratch. Hopefully, I’ll also get to see some cool artifacts!
Live from Jonestown, It’s Emilia Halvorsen!
I’m Emilia, and as one of the Exhibitions Interns here at the JMM, it seemed only right to make a formal introduction. I was born and raised in Baltimore City, and have really loved my experiences here- there’s always something to do, and there’s something really special about the Baltimore community, which I first began to appreciate after seeing the community come together and mobilize following the Baltimore Uprising. Before College, I attended Friends School from K-12. Now I attend Brown University, where I just finished my freshman year. In my free time I enjoy singing jazz, writing, and neglecting my gym membership. I also have an affinity for big earrings and fresh sushi. When I’m not working at the Jewish Museum, you can find me scooping Baltimore’s best ice cream at the Charmery in Hampden.
I am super excited to be part of the Jewish Museum team this summer. Museums have been the backdrops of some of my most special childhood memories, moments of awe and appreciation shared between me and my family. I really believe in the value of museums and the mission of the Jewish Museum of Maryland in particular, so I look forward to getting to know more about how museums operate, and to contribute to the behind the scenes work. The exhibitions internship seemed perfect for me, combining my passion for museums with my interest in anthropology. I can already tell it’s going to be a challenging summer, but also a rewarding one. I hope to look back at the end and see that I’ve gained important skills and made strong connections.
Beginning my Time at the JMM
My name is Oscar Cade Simon; I am the digital projects intern at the Jewish Museum of Maryland for the summer of 2016. I am new to the east coast and have lived in northern Baltimore for around five years now. Originally I hail from the Bay area on the west coast. Currently outside of work I am a sophomore at the University of Maryland Baltimore County with an Animation major. I went to high school at the Baltimore School for the Arts in Mt. Vernon for all four previous years.
Living in Baltimore has been an interesting experience for me, as the Jewish Museum of Maryland demonstrates there is a plethora of history and information contained in every neighborhood of the city. I hope to learn more about the various waves of immigrants that settled in Baltimore and the changing social conditions that facilitated areas to become what they are today. The JMM presents a unique opportunity to combine my knowledge of media arts with history in a professional, interesting and visitor friendly way. This summer I hope to help digitize some of the Museum’s research and work so that it can be accessed on the internet where it is not subject to decay and change, and more importantly can be accessed by anyone. My goal is to ensure a legacy and prominent online presence for the JMM so that everyone can share in the history of Jonestown and the Jewish experience in Baltimore as a whole. I want to be able to gain new skills and insight into the lives of the people that inhabited Baltimore.
Hello, my name is Anna Balfanz. I’m from Baltimore, Maryland and currently studying Anthropology and Environmental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. At the end of April, I found myself staring at my computer screen, half procrastinating for finals and half desperately searching for a summer internship that would
- Teach me new skills
- Relate to my major
- Fill my time – And –
- Be something I genuinely enjoyed
I went on to internships.com, a known savior of college students searching for a way to spend their summer productively. After quickly scrolling past a million “marketing” internships, I abruptly stopped when my eyes caught about five different internships for the Jewish Museum of Maryland.
I’ve gone to a Jewish day school for twelve years, thirteen if you count pre-school. Classes such as Hebrew, Bible, and Jewish History alongside Calculus, AP Environmental Science, and English Literature filled up a normal day. Of course, that changed when I entered college. While I felt ready to move away from a heavy focus on Judaics and pursue my own interests, I found myself really missing Judaism. Sukkot would pass during midterm week and I’d end up never stepping foot in a sukkah, or I would find that it was Purim a few hours before I needed to rush to the Megillah reading. I knew I wanted to re-connect to this part of me, but with such a busy schedule, I wasn’t sure how.
After reading a brief description, I quickly knew that an Education and Program Internship at JMM could not only hit all of my bullet points but also solve this problem. This summer, I’m excited to learn tangible skills such as leading tour guides, writing educational programs for museums, putting together exhibits, and promoting a museum. I also hope that I learn to think about museums from a different perspective, form close relationships with the other interns, and don’t feel too exhausted after spending ten weeks alternating between this and volunteering at the SPCA (I found a way to fill my summer!). All in all, I’m incredibly excited for the chance to work in this museum. It connects me back to Judaism, gives me practical experience working with the museum-side of anthropology, and provides me with a warm, welcoming environmental in which to spend my time. Let’s get started!
Hello! My name is David Roth Agronin, and I hail from Owings Mills, MD. I am a twenty one year old male and an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where I study philosophy and specialized in ethics and metaphysics.
I decided to intern at the Jewish Museum because I want to gain experience working at a non-profit, because I one day wish to go into law with regard to non-profits and/or non-governmental organizations. I also think that the Jewish Museum, because of its history and the history of the Jewish people has a lot to do with overcoming oppression and striving for social justice, which is something I am passionate about and which I think is a major problem in our society today. The Jewish Museum is a logical jumping off point for me to start a career aimed at improving social justice, especially within the city of Baltimore.
This summer I am also working at a Thai restaurant as a line cook and am hoping to use both of these opportunities to gain experience and a more intimate knowledge of my hometown, Baltimore.
Sincerely,
David Roth Agronin
Education Intern
Esquire
P.S. I am thoroughly enjoying using this typewriter and would like to inquire as to its price for potential purchase.
Hello! My name is Ben Snyder, I am a rising senior at Towson University where I study Secondary Education with a focus in History. I have lived in Baltimore my entire life and I attended Beth El Synagogue. I graduated from Pikesville High in 2013 where I took Multimedia classes and was the Cross Country team Captain.
I decided to intern at the museum to improve my knowledge and expertise in history. I am very much looking forward to working with the JMM staff as well as the other interns.
Gina’s First Week
Hi, I’m Gina Crosby, one of the newest Collections interns here at the Jewish Museum of Maryland. I’m originally from Rochester, NY, but am currently a senior studying history and museums at Johns Hopkins University here in Baltimore, MD. Recently, I studied abroad-four whole months!- in Morocco to practice my Arabic language skills and experience a new culture. I loved every second of traveling and living internationally, and being able to truly immerse myself in a whole different way of life.
This summer, I’m excited to be working in the Collections Department at the JMM. I’ve been interested in and studying museums for several years now at Hopkins, because I believe that museums are a great way to combine community outreach and historical research, two things I’m very passionate about. I chose to work within Collections because I love being so hands-on with history, both by working with artifacts as well as through the collecting process. I’m seriously considering a future career in museums, and I’m hoping that this summer will not only give me valuable experience in the museums field but also give me insight into my future career path. I’m looking forward to a great summer of learning and collecting!
My name is Becky and I am the current Public History Intern at the Jewish Museum of Maryland. I am a rising senior History Major at Salisbury University, but will be studying abroad at Stirling University in Scotland this fall. I love to travel both internationally and within the United States. In fact during the winter of my sophomore year, I spent three weeks in Rome attending a theatre class and enjoyed every minute. At the end of the summer I have the opportunity to spend a week in Alaska with my family. I am always ready to go somewhere new and exciting.
This opportunity at the Jewish Museum of Maryland is a wonderful chance for me to explore museum work. As the Public History Intern, I will be working with others to document the history of the lives of the Jewish population. I enjoy connecting with others and am excited to listen to their stories. Through this internship, I hope to gain increased knowledge of the inner workings of the museum and grow to understand what it means to be a museum professional.
Greetings From Tamara Schlossenberg
Hello. I am a recent graduate from Hood College with a bachelor’s in Archaeology and a minor in French. Currently I reside in Owings Mills, but grew up in Reisterstown just to the North West, where I am still very active in the local community. I currently am assisting my mom with the preparations for the Reisterstown farmers market. On my weekends I reenact the Civil War and participate in living histories telling about Maryland’s role in the War Between the States. In October I’m going to be relocating to Denver, CO for ten months for a position with AmeriCorps to do various community service projects.
I have had a lifelong passion for history and material culture, so working in a museum is a great way to work with both of those. I did an internship at the National Civil War Medicine Museum in Frederick, MD this past spring and loved it. I have wanted to intern at some of the museums in Baltimore for a while now as we have so many great museums and I just really enjoy being Downtown. As much as I enjoy doing archaeological fieldwork, museum work gives me and opportunity to present history to the public and share my interests. Through this summer I hope to gain additional museum experience and gain an idea of what I want to major in graduate school.
To read more posts by and about interns click HERE.