MOLAA- Museum of Latin American Art Final Week

Hola todos. I can't believe I have concluded my internship at MOLAA already. The best is yet to come!
"Experience is the teacher of all things."

Today concluded the final week of the Summer Art and Culture Camp here in Long Beach at MOLAA: Museum of Latin American Art. Working with children of all age groups, characters, and interests has been a wonderful experience because of the many skills I have learned in all kinds of situations. By now, the routine has become second nature to me after the first two weeks of hustling, improving, modifying, and ultimately solidifying what has worked best for all those involved.

The whole internship experience has been heavily loaded with networking opportunities that have taught me valuable lessons. Furthermore, through the physical journey from the valley to the beach, I have met many talented and insightful individuals, each with their own stories. I will never forget my time dedicated to this internship and how gradually everyday, I have grown as a strong young woman living in the 21st century.

As my YAP internship comes to an end, I have taken the time to debrief on my experience. Probably the most important lesson I have learned has been to always be open for learning in the smallest of opportunities. I really had not had the time to truly take in my surroundings, but this week, realizing that it would soon be time to leave, I did. I went downstairs from my cubicle, and besides the occasional kids' gallery tour, I decided to admire and analyze all the beautiful artwork within the confines of the museum. I got back into an inquisitive mindset that I had not exactly put into practice since school ended. I had a wonderful time. The artwork based on political, social, and religious topics truly opened my eyes. I spoke to the security guard in the gallery, and he said that even after so many years working at the museum, there was something new he always saw in the artwork displayed. I thought this was beautiful. It's this openness for new ideas and perspectives that really allows progress in life and all its varying aspects.

My last few days involved cleaning up after the summer camp ended. In addition, I created surveys for parents, teachers, volunteers, and campers to analyze their experience and how it could be improved. I also helped create a second backdrop for the Latino Comics Expo similar to the one I had done before but on a grander scale.

The four weeks working completely flew by, probably because they did not really feel like work. It was so much more than that. On my last day, I entered the Curator of Education's office, we talked, and she gave me a general assessment of how I did. She told me that because of the rapport I helped create in the workplace, my dedication, and willingness to serve, I had been one of the best interns they've had in years. I naturally did what I did because of the need I felt to contribute and give my all, but it was refreshing to hear that even my most subtle efforts had not gone unnoticed. The discussion we had on the last day was very interesting because she ended up teaching me about art history, the major contributions, messages, and implications in all works as those hung up in our offices. I felt blessed in this reaffirmation of the knowing I had been surrounded by such intelligent people that I will remain in touch with. I gave her my thank you note, one last hug, and walk out.

That same week I also partook in my community outreach event with fellow 2016 Young Ambassador, Dayanna and alumni: Diana and Adan. It went well because we both had experience working with kids and had learned way to captivate target audiences. We set up our table, read without a disturbance, and concluded with the activities. There were kids from around 5 to 13 years old. In true YAP fashion, we all gathered at a local paleteria and spend a lovely evening together, sharing stories.

I would like to express my sincerest appreciation to the Smithsonian Latino Center for this wonderful opportunity. Washington Week truly was only an incredible beginning for all the learning opportunities that would follow. Thank you to all the amazing YAP alumni, mentors, leaders, and my fellow 2016 ambassadors. I have enjoyed reading about your own internships and have been continually inspired by your hard work and dedication! I wish you all the best in all your future endeavors.

Much love,
Dania Torres

Final Week at the Atlanta History Center

Dear friends,

   Last Monday was my last day at the Atlanta History Center. My experience at the History Center was fantastic. I got to meet awesome people and get a lot of experience with children. The internship at the History Center really helped improve my public speaking, since I had to do presentations and come up with activities to help children learn more about United States history in a interactive way.



   The staff at the History Center were always very kind to me, They always asked me if I felt comfortable in doing something and told me that I could let them know at any time if I wanted to change my routine. This summer has definitely been one of the best I have ever had, and it made me feel very good when one of the moms told me that her child mentioned that his favorite part of the camp was me. I hope everyone had/has such a good time as I did.

Saludos,
David Alexander Garcia

The San Antonio Museum of Art- Week 4

This is my last full week at the San Antonio Museum of Art. As my internship draws to a close, with only 3 full days left, I feel blessed to have had this opportunity. My internship has been more helpful in my development as a person than I ever could have imagined. I never though I would find such a connection to my passion in architecture through this. I remember one of the speakers during Washington week had a quote that many people repeated afterwards, always say yes. While I do think the importance of choosing what not to do is understated in importance, I do agree with the spirit of this message and it something I heard again this week.

During this week, the other interns at the museum and I had the opportunity to sit down with the Latin American art curator. The first question he was asked was how he became a curator which lead to a little bit of his life story. He said that he went to college without knowing what he wanted to do and decided when he was two years in that he wanted to take a brake and figure that out. He ended up going on a trip to mexico and fell so in love with the culture that he decided he wanted whatever career path would let him spend the most time there. So he got a degree in anthropology and later in life became a Latin American art curator for the museum. The lesson he wanted us to take away from his story is that many times in life, you make a decision without knowing that it could change the entire course of your life. Many times, things take on a larger influence in our life than we ever could have known when we started.

In my past blog posts. I've written about how this experience as a young ambassador has shown me the ways to achieve my dreams. When I first applied and decided to become a part of this program, I had no idea what impact it would have for me. I really barely even knew what the program was. It did however seem like the most productive thing I could do with my summer and sounded a whole lot better than working at Academy for three months. Know because of it, I have a new found vision and direction for the next part of my life.

Paola Longoria

This week all my work researching the history and architecture of the museum finally came to its culmination. All of the interns including myself gave presentations on out respective topics of research this past Tuesday. I took all of the people working in the education department on a tour of the architectural features of the museum. I am extremely proud to say that some of the materials I created for the tour may actually end up being used to inform visitors of the museum on its architecture. I was surprised at how easy it was for me to give the presentation. Because I am so passionate about the topic, I just found information naturally and easily pouring out of my mouth. I can assure you that the majority of my presentation experiences haven't been so easy. 

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend my first YAP alumni event. We had awesome Tex-Mex at Trudy's and I got to me some more awesome members of our awesome familia. Leaving the event I felt nostalgic for Washington week and wishing I could see all my fellow 2016 cohort members. Please let me know if any of you are ever in town so we can meet up. The realization that my internship is ending is bittersweet. I'm excited to start college and feel energized by all I've learned. Knowing that the end of an experience that has been so great is right around the corner is hard to take.

History Colorado - Final Week

Hello,
I can't believe that today is my last day at the History Colorado Center. I've learned so much over the last month and I've had so much fun.

This week we celebrated Colorado Day, the 140th anniversary of Colorado's admittance to the Union. It was amazing! About 2,100 people came to the museum on Monday. We had performing pigs, cheerleaders, alpacas, artists, a real living bull snake and of course a birthday cake. I spent time handing out water, talking to vendors, and manning the general store in an exhibit called Keota, where kids an exchange eggs from the barn for coins and see what they could have bought in 1925. I also got to go inside of the Colorado State Capitol for the first time when we delivered some provisions for the celebrations over there.

 

 

 

I've been continuing my work on the online exhibit La Gente, which is nearly complete. The digital badges that students can earn at different levels (plains, foothills and 14ers) should go live pretty soon. Here's the link if you want to see it: http://exhibits.historycolorado.org/lagente/lagente_home.html

Also, here are the exhibit sketches I've been writing about for a while now:



 

 

 

It has been an absolute joy to be here at the History Colorado Center for the last month. I've enjoyed every moment of it, from researching early Hispanic Coloradans, to drawing exhibit plans, to manning the general store in Keota. Everyone here has been so supportive and kind, from teaching me how to use the microfilm machines in the library to answering my random questions about clause 11 of the Dawes Act. I will never forget my time here at History Colorado. It has influenced me in ways that I can't seem to put into words.


Lastly, I'd like to say thank you to History Colorado and the Smithsonian Latino Center for giving me this wonderful opportunity.

Con mucho cariño,

Ilse Maria Meiler

 

Final week at ASC

(I'd like to apologize for my lack of timeliness despite your request to be on time, but today is my last day at my internship and here is the only place I have access to a computer).

Today is my last day at the Science Center, and I am quite upset! Upon arriving here in the morning I received a card signed by my supervisor, and a few other staff members I grew close to these past four weeks, as well as a box of cookies we have been enjoying throughout the day. This past week has been the best because I got to assist two teacher work shops, got to do another outreach event where I went to a pre-school and made ice cream with the kids, and was invited to speak about my experience as an intern in front of middle and high school teachers!

My time at the science center has been filled with nothing but positivity. Upon arriving at the science center, and Phoenix, everything seemed very unfamiliar, but I have been blessed with the ability to be independent and adapt to different places very quickly; I can now walk around downtown and even give directions to pedestrians who think I am a student at ASU. The staff and volunteers here have been eager to show me around and the "tricks" around the center, even better, we all bond by playing pokemon GO during our lunch breaks. Working at the science center not only has increased my knowledge and interest in the science field, but it has also improved my communication skills, which is something I'll carry with me for the rest of my life. Having to speak to guests, and being invited to speak about my experience has made me more confident and more willing to speak publicly. This has been an unforgettable experience, not only because I got to visit a new city, but also got to work in a setting that I was not so familiar with before arriving here, considering I have only had restaurant jobs the past three years of my life. Washington Week made me ready to start this internship, this new experience. It taught me to combine your passions, network, and communicate in order to make the best out of an experience. I was able to visit a natural world wonder, and make a friend for life, and that is something quite priceless. Everyone has the opportunity to learn something new everyday, but not everyone takes it; I have learned to take all the opportunities I can because they can only improve me.

PS. I am now a member of the ASC and can visit over 100 of locations within the nation for free!

Last Week at HistoryMiami

Hey everyone! I can't believe my internship is already over and that it's been six weeks since Washington Week. During my last week at HistoryMiami I prepared and later presented what I had done at my internship and the research that I did. As such, I had a lot of time to reflect about my internship experience at HistoryMiami. When I first stepped through the doors of the museum, my stomach was in knots because I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that I was to ask for Cynthia Toledo and that she would familiarize me with the building and staff. After spending four weeks at this museum with Cynthia by my side for anything I needed, I've come to realize that I should never listen to my nerves. If I had let my fears of something new stop me from applying to the Young Ambassadors program, I wouldn't have the amazing YAP Familia and now HistoryMiami family in my heart. I found myself crying when I was making my goodbyes at HistoryMiami because I learned so much while I was there and was met with so much kindness from everyone.

During my internship, I learned about women who influenced South Florida who are virtually unknown. I contributed to a children's tour through our main exhibit by researching children's books that fit the program's themes. Seeing the educator's face light up when she saw the books I had found was so worth it, and she ended up using one of the books I chose for the tour on Thursday! I also helped people discover museums for the first time when I worked as a gallery aide and answered their questions or simply told them the little known facts about the exhibit. I felt proud of every single thing I did at the museum and there's far too much to list (ranging from the research mentioned to organizing fuzzy pipe cleaners in a closet with more craft materials than a person could ever use)

The Storytime with a Young Ambassador was also really rewarding because it felt great to give my time to the community and share my love of reading with the kids that participated. The best part was being around the YAP familia that I miss so much. Seeing Francesca again was awesome because we got to reminisce on Washington memories and talk about our internship. We also had two YAP alumni come to our storytime, Sonia and Michelle, which made our YAP reunion a little bigger. They were both so nice and since Sonia had interned for HistoryMiami also, we got to bond over talking about the inside secrets and the best food around the museum. After reading the story, we all gave them their activities and even joined in ourselves by coloring pages with them. Little known fact: Francesca's coloring skills are amazing.

I want to thank the Young Ambassadors Program for giving me this amazing opportunity. I have grown so much during this summer by doing things I never thought I could and realizing that I have so much left to learn. The best part has definitely been the people I have met and look forward to keeping in touch with for many years to come. I'm so proud to be a part of the YAP familia, I love you all so much!

Although our time at our internships are done and Washington Week has long since past, we are- Siempre Presente!

Jessica Pupo

Adler Planetarium Week 3

Hey! Hope y'all are well!

I can't believe I'm coming into my final week with the planetarium! I'm going to miss all the folks I've met here. Lalapalooza started this week and of course its happening near the Adler, causing hella traffic and making the day really long.

This week my supervisor taught me how to use the office scanner to then input its metadata. The process was really easy to grasp, the hardest part was slowing myself down--I'm not sure if I mentioned in my other blogs, but the collections office is always below 50 degrees and once I get the hang of something I speed up to make myself warm from even simple body movements.

By the end of the week, everything felt like a routine. In all the places I've ever worked or volunteered I feel like my job description would change at a second's notice, but this week I got the chance to live a different type of job experience. Though it needs less creativity, archiving through the Minisis database requires more accuracy and focus.

On Thursday I accompanied my supervisors to a biweekly meeting with the various astronomers on the museum's campus. The meeting was basically catching up with each of the different projects occurring in the departments. Something that I noticed was that I heard these folks laughing before the meeting even began. It was nice to see the importance of a nice sense of humor. With  the meeting as an example, this trait resulted in a more bonded group, providing the perfect platform to share each other's knowledge.
In this meeting I heard about a project called the Adler Ice cream truck, where astronomers from different departments take the truck to parks and pass out free ice cream with a free ticket to the museum. I was really excited for this project because not only is it a unique form of outreach but it also really gets people motivated for astronomy.

Til next time,
Spooky Steph