What I am enjoying the most is digging into the Lamson Map Collection held at Jackson State University, and which is the focus of my internship. The final goal is to create ideas on a public history project and part of that project itself. I have always been interested in maps and how they are used as ways to project power and influence social and political decisions and change, usually at great cost to some population. This project allows me to see first hand how this was done, instead of reading about it in scholarly works. The challenge is in changing my thinking from that lone academic writing for academics to thinking about a public audience and working within the parameters of a collaborative project.

What I am also finding most valuable, if not always the most enjoyable, is seeing and being part of the collaborative process first-hand. Just observing how the team at the CHNM works with the various stakeholders, has been a learning experience. There are five colleges and universities involved in the project, and they are all at very different places in the process. Seeing how the team leaders work with that particular challenge is enlightening. They are very good at being encouraging and helping make certain tasks easier for the people at the variouses institutions to complete without being demanding or demeaning. Where I work, we are typically fine with having one department meeting a semester, but here I see the importance of having frequent meetings in order for everyone to communicate progress, problems, and ask and answer questions so everyone is on the same page.  

I am used to working independently and have come to enjoy that (see above.) But I am learning the valuable skills of working within a team. Now I need to learn how to make myself more a part of that team instead of being the lone researcher off on my own.