“Coming to the Huntington this summer has really reoriented my path after graduation,” says Notre Dame senior Aubrey Butts from Lima, Ohio.
During the summer of 2013, Butts interned in the manuscripts department of the Huntington Library, a collections-based research institution in San Marino, Calif. One of her favorite projects was working with travel brochures, guide books, and other ephemeral materials for an exhibition commemorating the centennial of the National Park Service. “My American studies major has definitely prepared me to deal with this wide variety of material sources,” Butts says.
Butts received a grant from the Arts and Letters Summer Internship program, which provides funding to sophomores and juniors taking internships in the U.S. and abroad. “It was an amazing blessing receiving money to come out here,” Butts says.
Based on her internship experience, Butts plans on pursuing a career in public history. “Don’t let uncertainty stop you from taking an internship; it may absolutely end up changing your life,” Butts says.
After graduation, Butts will begin a master’s in public history program at Northwestern University.
You can also watch this video on YouTube.
