Megan T. Sullivan
American Historian
Dependable-Driven-Dedicated
Making History Matter:
My Public History Experiences
In looking through this site, you will get a sense of the experiences I have had in the Public History field through internships and jobs. My Public History career began when I applied for an internship at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. It was there that I discovered my love for teaching history to the public as I was able to interact with visitors face-to-face in telling them the story of Harpers Ferry's past. In this intense 12-week experience, I learned in depth how to interpret and demonstrate knowledge I had learned.
This experience later on led to an opportunity to become a Park Guide at Harpers Ferry where I further developed my interpretation skills but also aided in training interns. My knowledge of Park history and procedure was put to the test as I was instructed to teach these interns everything that I had learned when I had been in their shoes.
My second Public History experience occurred as an intern with the Pennsylvania State Archives where I worked closely with the Digital Archivist. During this internship, I gained knowledge of how to work with two-dimensional manuscripts and records. I came to understand how documents are cataloged and stored.
Finally, my third experience occurred at the National Civil War Museum where I worked with the Chief Curator to develop a temporary exhibit and put together material for an upcoming Museum publication. By observing the curator, I learned a great deal about how exhibits are put together.