Internships

Job Description 

Intern will work at the Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site in Huntington Station, Long Island, NY. Intern will confer with Event Director and Administrator. Together they will create a project which will support our marketing and advertising programs for our literary events and educational programs. This project may take the form of creating a marketing plan, designing ads (print and web-based), and event promotion through print ads, the website, and social media. Intern should be familiar with social media as a form of promotion. Intern will learn to write print and web ads, and promotional copy. In some cases, Intern will attend events to gather feedback from visitors in order to assess the effectiveness of the marketing and advertising strategies.

Position Responsibilities

Intern will be responsible for assisting Event Director in marketing and advertising events and programs. Intern should have strong writing skills and an instinct for promotion to targeted audiences. Intern should be well organized and attentive to details, such as meeting publication deadlines. He/she will interface with literary agents and poets. Intern should enjoy attending events to observe the results of the marketing strategy. After a training session about our social media, the intern will contribute text to our Facebook, blog, and Twitter accounts.

Method of Supervision

Intern should be available Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday 9 AM – 5 PM.  The Event Director will supervise the Intern and work side-by-side with the Intern in a small, friendly office (4 people). Preferably, Intern should have a portable computer or Ipad / tablet to bring to work, but he/she may also use an office computer if they cannot supply their own.

Desired Organizational Outcomes

Intern will help promote our organization’s programs and events. There are three desired organizational outcomes: 1) Awareness and recognition of organization; 2) An increase in event attendance; 3) An increase of organizational “presence” in the social media, i.e., Facebook, blogs, and Twitter.  

Desired Student Outcomes

Intern will develop an understanding of how to market and advertise a small non-profit cultural organization. He/she will become familiar with local Long Island publications. He/she will create an advertising campaign and create marketing strategies to promote our events and programs. He/she will learn how to obtain product placement (for our events and programs) for free, and how to evaluate the cost of buying advertisement/product placement space. Intern will assist in designing promotional material, press releases, flyers, ads, etc. Intern will have the title of “WWBA Media Assistant” and will have created promotional materials for their portfolio.

Contact: Caitlyn Shea, WWBA Executive Director
director@waltwhitman.org

Job Description                   

Intern will work at the Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site in Huntington Station, Long Island, NY. Intern will confer with curator and historian, Richard Ryan, and together they will create a project which will support our Museum Collections department. This project may take the form of annotating the files, artifact restoration, research about historic items for our records, transcribing (typing) documents for computer database, and/or digitizing documents and records.

Position Responsibilities

Intern will read and learn about “best museum practices” at the beginning sessions with Curator.

Intern will follow “best museum practices” throughout their project. He/she must be willing to wear white cotton gloves when handling artifacts, and must have a gentle touch when handling artifacts or historic papers.

Intern should be able to maintain the project on an individual, self-directed level.

Method of Supervision

Intern will report to the Executive Director on Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday, 9AM – 5 PM.

Intern will confer with Curator and be in touch with Curator by email as the project requires.

Desired Organizational Outcomes

Museums Collections will be improved through the project, whether it be in organization, restoration, or digitization. Such improvement will contribute the collection’s stature which will assist the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association in obtaining museum accreditation. Museum accreditation not only signifies the standard of the museum and its collections, but accreditation also enhances the opportunity to receive state and federal grants.

Desired Student Outcomes

Intern will learn best Museum Practice in general, and in particular, he/she will enact these practices in their project.

Intern will learn about preservation techniques, historic research, and they will become proficient with using the computer database of Past Perfect Programs for Museums.

Through this project and its research, the intern will learn about the history of this NY State Historic Site, which is the only Long Island site listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Intern will learn about Long Island history and, in particular, learn about the formation of the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association which was formed in 1947 and which operates the site for New York State.

Contact: Caitlyn Shea, WWBA Executive Director
director@waltwhitman.org

Intern will work with the Executive Director and the Media Director in the office of our modern Interpretive Center at the Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site in Huntington, Long Island, NY. Intern will assist Media Director in website maintenance—updates, entries, new information. If Intern has knowledge of Facebook and other social media tools for promotion, he/she will be asked to instruct the office in the use of social media and contribute to its content. Intern will work Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday, 9 AM – 5 PM.  

Position Responsibilities

Intern will become familiar with the Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site and learn of the mission and vision of the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association which operates the historic site for New York State. Intern will have knowledge of website construction and maintenance, and collaborate with the Executive Director and Media Director in the maintenance of a new website. Intern should have a grasp of HTML and browsers. Intern will maintain the website through weekly updates. If Intern has knowledge of Facebook and other social media tools for promotion, he/she will be asked to instruct the office in the use of social media.   Intern may also be asked to contribute to the content of social media.

Method of Supervision

Intern will receive supervision from the Executive Director and Media Director on a daily basis.                                                                 

Desired Organizational Outcome

Association will have a re-designed / up-to-date website which will assist in our mission to promote Walt Whitman’s legacy, establish a stronger social media presence and organization recognition, as well as further our ability to promote events and enable our fundraising endeavors.

Desired Student Outcomes

Intern will have the unique opportunity to learn how to organize a website for a notable historic and literary site.  Intern will learn the many facets of a small non-profit and integrate them into a website that reflects its mission. Intern will have the privilege of the title of Website Assistant which may be used in a resume or portfolio.

Contact: Caitlyn Shea, WWBA Executive Director 
director@waltwhitman.org