Summer Intern Madness

This summer we are fortunate enough to have three interns working here at the Russell! All dedicated students of history who are working to build their knowledge of archives and helping the full-time staff to advance projects in processing and exhibit development. In the coming weeks we'll invite them to share some basic info about themselves so we can introduce them here on the blog and spotlight their contributions through various posts. Without further ado, I give you our first intern...

Name: Christie Keene

Hometown: Lilburn, GA

Burning the midnight oil at the Russell Library from... May-July 2009

Education: Rising Senior at Georgia College State University, majoring in history with a minor in music. Expected graduation: Spring 2010

Favorite course I’ve taken in college: I have enjoyed many of my classes, but the quirkiest class I've taken was Power, Politics, and Tolkien with Professor Hank Edmondson.

I knew I was a sucker for history when... I began taking more advanced history courses in high school and enjoyed analyzing the concepts of history and finding how events connect people and cultures. I realized that a historian didn’t necessarily need to have such a firm grasp on dates and facts they could win a game of Jeopardy. The most important thing a historian can do is preserve the history that exists and seek out the history being created now to save for the future.

My Gig at the Russell Library: I recently took a class about archives and expressed an interest in finding an internship. One of my classmates suggested the Russell Library, and I jumped on the opportunity. My project here is to process the William H. Burson collection. The majority of the collection is scrapbooks documenting Burson’s many professions. These scrapbooks have varying artifacts such as photographs, newspaper articles, and awards that Burson received throughout his life.

The best part of my internship so far: It’s been interesting to read through Burson’s life since I learn something new about him every day. It’s exciting to wonder how researchers are going to use the documents from his life in their work.

If I wasn’t spending time in the archives, I would try my hand at a career in…
My alter ego would be pursuing a career in voice acting. I’ve always enjoyed animation, and I admire voice actors for creating interesting and unique voices.

When I’m not in the Russell… I watch movies (I recently watched Duck Soup for the first time), listen to music, and learn new things off of the Internet. There are so many things to know, and I find it interesting that the more I learn, the more I question.

If I had to guess, I would say in five years you’ll find me… I’m hoping that I will have finished graduate school and begun working my way up in the public history field. It’s not clear yet whether I will be solely involved with preservation or museum work, but hopefully I can find a balance between the two.