Meggie Macdonald

York University is offering a Knowledge Mobilization Summer Internship Opportunity for students to volunteer at an institution within their community that will utilize their skills and research interests and give them a valuable learning experience through volunteer work. The beauty about this program is that, unlike most drives to promote volunteering in one’s community, KM is aware that most students also need to make a living while complementing their resumes or CVs. So, it is offering a $6000 stipend for 2 months full-time or 4 months part-time to students whose applications are successful.

I have decided to pursue this opportunity and have an interview scheduled with Mr. Paul Denis at the Royal Ontario Museum early next week to discuss the internship program as well as what he is looking for from a volunteer at the ROM.

Many thanks to Taber James and Jack Holladay for insisting that, while working for them at UofT in my fourth undergraduate year, I handle artifacts for scanning, cataloguing, and databasing since this is one of the things Mr. Denis mentioned drew his attention on my CV. Not only was it hands-on, but I learned an important detail about myself that otherwise could have been very damaging to artifacts in the future. I have very acidic sweat and thus must wear protective gloves or perpetually dry my hands on paper towel while handling artifacts. Otherwise the acid will degrade the artifacts and affect everything from carbon dating to the longevity of the piece.

And the application process continues…