HISP Student at Internship in Alaska

This summer, Abigail Phelps (Class of 2021) is interning for the Soldotna Historical Society and Museum, a small non-profit organization in Soldotna, Alaska. Her work allows her to apply what she has learned in Museum Studies courses at the University of Mary Washington to a unique museum environment, one that focuses on telling the stories of homesteaders on the “last frontier” of Alaska. Abigail’s main project is cataloging the museum’s collections onto Past Perfect software. She is describing, measuring, labeling, and photographing hundreds of objects, and making sure both paper and digital records match. She also displays these objects throughout the museum’s cabins and exhibitions. Abigail enjoys working in Alaska this summer, and she looks forward to the experiences of each day to help further the museum’s mission: presenting and preserving the past in perpetuity.