June 18, 2014

Intern Profile: Emma O’Neil ’15

Meet Emma O’Neil ’15, a history major and intern at the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center.
Emma O’Neil ’15

Major: History
Hometown: Helena, Montana

Can you tell us what you’re doing this summer? What are your basic duties as an intern?

I am currently an intern at the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center in Portland. I am working on an exhibit about a Japanese family who was detained at the Portland Assembly Center following the beginning of World War II before being sent to work in Eastern Oregon in the sugar beet fields. The exhibit is based almost entirely off of letters written between this family and their friends between the years 1942 and 1945. I spend a lot of my time sifting through the letters and other documents to find information that can help us create the exhibit. Another part of my role as an intern is to help conduct archival research based on these letters and to conduct research using online resources. 

How has Lewis & Clark supported you in the process of finding, securing, and funding your internship?

Lewis & Clark has has helped me fund my internship through the Fowler and Levin Summer Internship Award, which has allowed me to do my unpaid internship without worrying about not having a steady paycheck. If not for this award, I would have likely have had to let this opportunity pass by.

How do you see this internship leading to a career in your chosen field and aiding in your overall career development?

As a history major, it is sometimes difficult for me to picture what my future career might be like. Getting the opportunity to work in a museum where the skills I have learned at Lewis & Clark are an integral part of the work I do allows me to imagine what kind of career I might pursue after I graduate, and helps me narrow down what I want to study in graduate school. It also gives me the chance to apply all the skills I have learned in my classes to a real world situation. I am happy to say that Lewis & Clark has left me well prepared to handle any of the challenges that have come my way so far during my internship.

The Stephanie Fowler and Irving Levin Summer Internship Award was established by Stephanie Fowler MA ’97 and Irving Levin, generous donors committed to ensuring that Lewis & Clark students are able to have meaningful and enriching summer internship experiences. 

Career Development History Department