Janis was a state archival assistant for the Arizona State Archives during Spring Term 2023.
Briefly explain what you did and the result of your internship.
I am working with the Deputy State Archivist on organizing and filing civil records. So far I have worked on marriage licenses and civil court cases - the latter being from the year 1912 when Arizona became a state. I like many facets of my internship and have learned a lot already. Beginning with a complete tour of the Archive/Library building, I was amazed at the volume of records and the organization and preservation of each type of record. I spend most days filing, but usually get to visit various parts of the building, including the Conservation Lab, the Public Reading Room, and the various pods where the records are stored. My favorite part is talking to the employees and learning about their efforts to not only preserve the records, but to make them available to the public. I've learned about retention schedules, metadata, and maps. All of the employees have been friendly, helpful, and excited about their work. I've learned about multiple websites that help the public find records that are important to them personally or for research. From the oldest of the records, to those that are "digitally born" they are all handled with great respect and intentional management.
What did you learn on your internship that you were not expecting to learn?
This could be a long list - primarily I learned how much effort is placed on preserving permanent state records and as a secondary, I had a peak into life in 1912 (by filing permanent records from that year) and I was surprised at the complexity of life and the content of the court cases.
Please share how your experience led to personal inspiration or insightful revelation.
I worked with people who have a very different life than mine - some have small families and many are not married. I felt like I was able to understand them through inspiration and I prayed each day to lift them and bring the light of Christ into their lives. I made some good friends and am going to give a Book of Mormon to one of them.
Would you recommend this internship to other students?
Absolutely! I don't know if there will be anyone in the Phoenix area who needs an internship, but I would highly recommend this internship - it was both insightful and fulfilling. I better understand how record keeping is both difficult to do and, even with ones best effort, how mistakes are inevitable. But I learned the importance of working hard to save records that may be useful to someone in the future.
Is there anything else you would like to say regarding your internship?
I really appreciate the encouragement and opportunity to see a broader view of the world of record keeping. It fits perfectly with my Family History degree and I could not have learned many of these lessons in another way.
