Internships

The paid internship required of students in the Preservation Studies Program provides hands on experience that builds on course work and prepares students for the job market. Below, a number of current students and recent graduates describe the projects they undertook during their internship, demonstrating the variety of internship opportunities in Boston, New England, and far beyond.

Ellen Berichon Murphy (MA 2003) worked as a Preservation Consultant with the Preservation Company, Kensington, NH. This position involved working with Section 106 review for the NH Department of Transportation and included completing town-wide reconnaissance surveys, inventory forms, and writing town histories. "This was a great opportunity to work out in the field (not at a desk), as much of the research and survey was completed outside of the office. Once the initial research and survey work is completed, I could work from home on the writing. I had a great deal of autonomy, but good supervision and mentoring. The Preservation Company provides a detailed support packet of 'how-tos' that is helpful for first-timers when completing inventory forms, taking photos, and researching town history. The internship provided the first opportunity to work on actual inventory forms and survey method, a great complement to the training provided in classes."

Kara Cicchetti and Sarah Hansen (MA 2003) shared two positions at Colorado Preservation, Inc., the statewide non-profit preservation group. One position involved the Endangered Places Program, an advocacy and technical assistance program to identify and save the state's most threatened historic places through an annual Most Endangered Places List. "Sarah and I visited 18 of the 39 sites listed from 1997 to 2001. At each site, we met with the local activists to ascertain status, assessed and reported on existing conditions, developed a needs assessment, and identified action steps for CPI. We reported to the Board of Directors at the end of the summer, having compiled a major file for each site." Since then, they have been invited back twice to present their findings-once at CPI's own conference, and also at the 2003 National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference held in Denver. As the other half of the internship, they worked on development and fundraising for CPI's annual conference. The conference is the largest venue in Colorado for people in preservation to gather together and is now regarded as an event that is raising the standards for preservation practices throughout the state. "Sarah and I were involved in brainstorming session topics and recruiting session speakers from Colorado as well across the nation and helped to solicit conference sponsorships. CPI's Saving Places 2003: Preserving Western Heritage conference was held February 6-8, 2003. The theme featured the challenges and rewards of preserving our western heritage with sessions focused on parks, hotels, theaters, cemeteries, churches, streetscapes, roadways, waterways, retail buildings, public transportation facilities, government buildings, courthouses, city halls, libraries, schools and museums. The 2003 conference was highly successful and surpassed all of our projections and with over 750 participants is distinguished as the largest statewide historic preservation conference in the country."

Charles "Gus" Fraser (MA 2001) completed his internship at Mount Auburn Cemetery, the National Historic Landmark located in Watertown and Cambridge. Founded in 1831, Mount Auburn was the country's first large-scale, designed landscape open to the public and the first of the "rural" cemeteries laid out with winding paths, expansive vistas and classically inspired chapels and over 10,000 monuments representing funerary art through the 19th and 20th centuries. "Having done some hands-on graveyard preservation work, this internship built on my previous experience while providing a new understanding of how to integrate preservation into the operations and care of an active cemetery." The Cemetery has made great efforts to raise its standard of care for these resources to the levels established by the Secretary of the Interior, thus setting an example for historic cemeteries across the country. "My supervisor at Mount Auburn, herself a graduate of the B.U. Historic Preservation Program, encouraged me to develop an understanding of the physical properties of building materials." During his internship, Gus assessed the condition of the cemetery's mausolea and hill-side tombs, completed a Historic Structures Report for a deteriorating brownstone tomb dating to the mid-1860s, and developed procedures for the appropriate and sensitive washing of marble, granite, brownstone and slate headstones. "My work at Mount Auburn enhanced and extended my coursework, providing opportunities to pursue an interest in aspects of preservation first encountered in the classroom. I had contact with preservationists and conservators consulting on projects at Mount Auburn, which has been invaluable in creating a network of professionals with expertise in the many different specialties of preservation. I was later hired full-time to assist in managing preservation of the Cemetery's historic resources while finishing my remaining graduate school requirements. By enriching my classroom work, introducing me to many established preservationists, and opening a door for career advancement, the internship was among the most rewarding aspects of my graduate school experience."

Erica Glanz (MA 2002) interned at the National Trust's Northeast regional office, working on the Neighborhood Schools Initiative. She studied how each New England state's economic policies, building codes, and planning laws affected historic schools and then made "Grade Cards" for each state. Erica then worked on the Community Preservation Act website, creating the section on those historic resources preserved with CPA funds; created educational packets; and printed information to share with towns considering the act that needed marketing help. She worked with Christina Prochilo on the Drugstore Initiative, calling architects, engineers, and local preservation advocates and professionals, to keep the files up-to-date and to determine whether or not the threat had been heightened or diminished by Trust efforts. "This internship gave me practical experience for what I do today, as I am often involved in charrettes with structural, mechanical and electrical engineers."

Lisa Harrington (MA 2001) held an internship at the South End Historical Society, which funds a regular position with the Boston Landmarks Commission for a Graduate Assistant to the Preservation Planner for the neighborhood's Landmark District Commission. Lisa's internship at the BLC included work on a comprehensive architectural survey of the South End Landmark District, the largest Victorian brick housing district in the United States, consisting of 3,300 structures, primarily 19th century row houses. In addition to this survey Lisa provided assistance in preparation for monthly Commission hearings and created a computer database of current design and construction violations to aid the Commission in follow-up investigation. "My experience provided an opportunity to learn how a Historic District Commission guides property owners in planning the rehabilitation of their historic buildings as well as how the Commission determines architectural changes that are appropriate to the district."

Rachel Kane (MA 2002) came to the Program with a law degree, and her internship with the National Trust for Historic Preservation gave her an opportunity to work on general advocacy issues and provide technical assistance to constituents. The Trust also gave her the opportunity to work with the city of Lawrence, MA, to create a preservation plan for one of their most historic neighborhoods. "The Arlington District, a historic working-class community, has suffered the effects of economic downturns and incompatible infill housing. My goal was to work with local community groups to prepare a 'blueprint' for educating and guiding local citizens and city leaders in their efforts to preserve and protect the Arlington District's historic assets, as well as to encourage improvements through commercial corridor investment and streetscape beautification." The result, a comprehensive preservation plan, has been distributed to city leaders and can be accessed on the National Trust's website.

Tim Orwig (MA 2001; currently Ph.D. student in the American Studies Program) worked in Boston as a paid student intern for the State of Massachusetts. Within the Department of Environmental Management (the agency that primarily administers state parks), the Office of Historic Resources protects the architectural, archeological, and man-made landscape resources owned by the state. It also administers the Historic Landscape Preservation Grant Program (HLPGP), which yearly has awarded $1 million in competitive grants to restore significant municipal landscapes. "After my 6-month internship for the HLPGP, I continued to work part-time for the Office of Historic Resources for another two years. I wrote the HLPGP annual report, park signs, and Massachusetts Historical Commission notification forms; organized mailings; edited publications; and assisted in many aspects of grant administration. I gained a new understanding of the importance of preservation in a variety of state agencies, and the career possibilities in public service. Several of my colleagues were graduates of the BU Preservation Program."

Jason Reeves (MA 2003) completed his 2002 internship at the Stewardship Program of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA). Working part-time for two semesters, Jason researched potential development threats and preservation opportunities surrounding several SPNEA properties. In addition, he assisted in compiling a database of information detailing SPNEA's easement properties. "It was a great opportunity for me to combine my experience in building construction with my class work." Jason has since specialized in rehabilitation and community development and enrolled after graduation in a Real Estate and Urban Planning program at Harvard's Graduate School of Design.

Traci Roloff (MA 2004) was chosen as a participant in the US/ICOMOS Summer Exchange Program in 2002 and assigned to the Slovak Republic. The internship began with a week-long orientation program in Washington, DC, to meet other American and foreign preservationists, architects, historians, and archeologists. She then traveled to Slovakia for three months of work and study. For the first month she participated in the material conservation certificate program at the Academia Istropolitana Nova in Svaty Jur, near Bratislava. "I was able to travel with the Eastern European students to numerous towns and villages and participated as a student in the English-only program." For the final two months of the internship, she lived and worked in Banska Stiavnica, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Slovakia. "Working for the regional office of the Pamiatkovy Ustav (Institute of Monuments), I joined the staff in their monitoring activities of buildings within the site and completed an independent project. Through photo-documentation and measured drawings, the traditional roof types, architectural elements, and structural framing were documented for use in a digital image database and information booklet. Both of these tools were intended for use by the office to aid in education and regulation of roof modification and new construction within the village."

Eileen Wilde (MA 2004) held an internship with the Historic House Trust of New York City, a non-profit affiliated with the City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation, in the summer of 2003. HHT is responsible for the preservation and promotion of sixteen house museums in New York City parks. Eileen was charged with completing a cultural landscape survey for Van Cortlandt Park, located in the Bronx. "The park included over eighty features to be surveyed: park structures, natural resources, circulation systems, sports fields, playgrounds, graveyards, sculptures, and historic buildings, including the 18th century Van Cortlandt House and two turn-of-the-century golf clubhouses." In addition, an extensive history of the park was completed. The survey will give HHT and the Parks Department a clearer understanding of past park projects and provide context for future park development and design.

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