• Casey Salinas
• Kaitlyn Barnett- Curator & Supervisor

As I reflect on my time at the Williamson Museum, I’m leaving this internship with immense gratitude for the chance to work alongside such wonderful people. Doing an in-person internship mattered to me in my graduate program, enough that I left a job I’d held for five years and started fresh at a new company to make it possible. That new employer was incredibly supportive of the decision, and I’m just as grateful for that.

Looking to the futures and reflecting on the work I was able to complete during this internship, I’d love to build a career and a name in this field. My concentration is in archival studies, and true to that, most of my time here was spent organizing and managing historical records. But working alongside the curator has opened my eyes to another side of museum work, and I could absolutely see myself pursuing curation as well. Seeing her excitement finalizing her new exhibit “Lights, Camera, Williamson County” was awesome to see and be a part of.

During my time with the museum, I’ve learned how to navigate PastPerfect, which included inputting archival records, scanning and organizing documents. Working through the Belford Lumber Company Collection has taught me how to manage my time, large sets of material, and pace myself through very repetitive tasks. I was able to find small efficiencies for myself that made the process smoother every day. The collection is large and I was only able to scratch the surface of cataloging it, but it was a great experience, nonetheless. One of my favorite parts about my role was being in the collection itself, exploring the shelfs, and boxes embarrassingly made me tear up one of the days I was there.

I’ve worked in many places and one thing I can say for sure is that the community and culture of a workplace really brings together the organizations mission. The Williamson Museum is ran by four amazing women, all of whom I admire for everything they’ve taught me during my internship and everything they do for the community that they serve. Getting to work side by side with them made this experience so much more fun, and I hope to bring their passion into any role I pursue in the future.

I have also already committed to volunteering to continue cataloging the collection in my spare time. Based on my supervisor interview, volunteering is where two of their staff members started, hopefully my time as an intern/volunteer will leave a lasting impression for future possibilities and networking in this field. These past ten weeks have given me a practical hands-on experience, and although I started not necessarily having expectations on what I would learn, I definitely left feeling as though I learned exactly what I needed to.