Hello!  My name is Christina and I am the exhibits intern for the summer of 2012 at the History Museum of Mobile (HMOM).  I will be posting about my adventures as an intern at least once a week throughout the summer.  The intent of this blog is to give everyone a look into the exciting things that go on at HMOM on a regular basis, and into what I do as an intern.
I have been working at HMOM since the beginning of June, so I will post a few this week to catch up for missed time.  But for now I will let you know a little about me!

I am originally from the Eastern Shore and went to the University of Alabama for undergrad.  I am now a double masters candidate at the University of Colorado at Boulder.  In August I will start my final semester in the History Department where I have a focus on Tudor and Stuart England, but with various research interests in the Atlantic World and conquest histories in the Caribbean.  This August will also start my final year in my second masters program, Museum and Field Studies with a concentration in Exhibit Development.
Yes, I know. I am a glutton for punishment.  But I absolutely LOVE what I do! I am getting both Masters degrees because I love the research I do in history, but also enjoy the project and people aspect of exhibits. I originally volunteered at HMOM back in the summer of 2007, and got my first look at exhibits.  I shadowed all of the curators at the museum, but exhibits spoke to me the most. The experience at HMOM and a later internship at the Handel House Museum in London, UK, directly influenced my decision to get a second masters in museum studies. I stayed in contact with Jacob, the Curator of Exhibits throughout the rest of undergrad and into grad school. When it came time to complete my required summer internship for my program, I talked through several options I was pursuing with Jacob, but eventually settled on HMOM as the best place to get the most out of my internship.

With my background, I am styling myself as an exhibit developer.  This includes research, writing, and outlining the storyline and flow of an exhibit.  Basically everything but the actual design and art portion of the exhibit, which is exactly what I am seeking to learn during this internship! So be warned, I will be learning about all the fun stuff, Photoshop, building, painting, designing, and -my favorite part- power tools!! And I will be blogging about all of this (with lots of pictures of course!).

So stay tuned for exciting updates on what I have been up to thus far!
 (and I promise this will be the longest post)

 Me at Disneyland this past Christmas

-Christina