Padnos Internship Program

Sean

Padnos Internship Program

Experience Information

Employer: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
Job Title: Museum Intern
Major: Mathematics
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No

Description of the Organization

The Ford Museum opened to the public in September 1981. It is part of the Presidential libraries system of the National Archives and Records Administration, a Federal agency. Unlike other Presidential libraries, the museum component is geographically separate from the library/archives. The Ford Museum is in Grand Rapids, Michigan and the Library is in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Despite the separation, the library and museum are a single institution sharing one director. Where the Ford Library offers an analytic approach to our past and our government, the museum provokes emotions that stimulate learning, reflection, and a sense of democratic citizenship. For visitors, the presidency is theirs to see and touch (almost), to use, and to hold accountable.

Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed

Over the course of my internship, I designed and developed a website that coincided with an upcoming temporary exhibit. In the span of three months, I taught myself how to use HTML, CSS, and Adobe Dreamweaver to put the site together. I spent an extensive amount of time doing research and TMS database development for the museum. I focused on President Ford's passion for sports-particularly football and did some extensive research on various footballs that were gifted to him and his history at the University of Michigan. I spent time working on a Tumblr and an artifact collections website which allows users to view small samples of the over 20,000 artifact collection online and on their phones. These finished products will be available to view in the coming months on the museums website. I also spent some time developing a franchised logo for the upcoming Aircraft exhibit coming in July. Using Adobe Photoshop, I designed and created the logo, educational materials, banners for light poles to be used downtown Grand Rapids as well as banners to be used internally at the museum, signage for the exhibit, and finally a giant road-side billboard that will be put on display for the summer advertising the exhibit and Gerald R. Ford's "Ford" Class of aircraft carriers. Additionally, I partook in the preventative conservation of the collection by encapsulating documents and creating ethafoam storage mounts, and generally learned the day-to-day routine of a collections manager under the supervision of the museum registrar.

Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience

Working at the museum this semester has given me numerous skills and experience that I have already implemented into my career as a mechanical designer. I improved upon my skill as working as a member on a team. Knowing my role and being able to deliver my end of a project under pressure, as well as work independently and take on a project and see it's completeness from beginning to end. Due to the skills I learned working with various social media projects; I am now managing several social media efforts at my work. I am also using Adobe Photoshop now to create professional life-like renderings of my final product designs to send off to clients. From this internship, I am excited to say that I am already beginning to see a positive direct impact in my professional career.

Favorite Part of the Experience

My favorite part of this internship experience was the different projects I was assigned. My supervisor typically brings in interns with a lot of history backgrounds, but this semester he wanted something a little different, someone with a strong background in a technology field. This allowed me to organically progress through the semester, discovering new projects, to propel the museum forward in ways it normally wouldn't. As he saw my skills develop, more responsibilities were placed on my shoulders and I was allowed to work independently and research and work with various individuals in the museum on different projects as if I was a full-time employee.

How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals

Although my passion for mechanical design and engineering may venture me away from the museum field, through all the skills and knowledge I gained this semester I believe that this experience has played a significant role in the professional development of my career. Upon completion of this semester and receiving my degree, I will be switching to full-time status at my current job as a mechanical designer for a company out in Wyoming, MI. I will be spending my time designing automated truck washing systems for a wide range of fleets including school buses, truck fleets, mining equipment, commercial and private fleet washes as well as touchless pressure washers.

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