Florida-France Soldier Stories
Intern - Spring 2024
Week One
Outline of goals and responsibilities, and introduction to the team.
January 11, 2024
After last week’s reality check, I put my head down and focused on the most important task ahead of me: revising the George Surls biography. With Marie’s exhaustive notes and a new perspective on what to look out for I began working diligently on the complex issues scattered throughout the bio. At first, this seemed incredibly daunting. Over time, however, I found an efficient way to tackle each subject and made great progress.
The biography is actually pretty great. The narrative storytelling is compelling and captures the most important details of Surls’ life and service. What suffers though is the accuracy of many of the details that are negligible to the big picture but matter greatly in a historical publication. First and foremost, there was a sentence in the early life section that seemed to take some liberties in interpreting sources. Ultimately, I was able to review the sources and determine a more accurate and effective way to convey what the author was intending to say.
The next major obstacles were in the military service section. Primarily, the issues were with geographical details that luckily Marie was acutely aware of during her review. With her notes I was able to make some important adjustments and utilize more accurate sources to cite the information. In this section there were also a few inaccuracies involving the military actions that slipped past me on my first read through. Again, with sources provided by Marie, I was able to fix these problems as well.
Beyond that, and a few grammatical and formatting edits, the most time-consuming efforts were spent on reviewing and correcting the footnote citations. In some cases, this meant replacing weblinks or adjusting the formatting. But in other cases, though few, I found that the cited source was not actually leading to the right information at all. For those I had to research and find my own sources to corroborate the information being conveyed. The most important thing I learned from this bio is to always check the validity of sources, no matter how good they look at first glance.
This week we also had another team meeting to discuss everyone’s progress on their individual tasks. This was a great opportunity to see how every else has been getting on with their own unique challenges. I also offered my services as one of the two military specialists to review bios that the rest of the team is editing.
In the meeting we also discussed the Alfred Weekley biography that I completed my preliminary review of just a few weeks ago. We are exploring options to borrow some valuable resources from Weekley’s still-living children. Currently, we are in a sort of negotiation to use a personal family picture in the final publication. We are hopeful that we will get permission to do so, and that the surviving family will be pleased and proud of the work we have done to honor their father.
This week certainly brought its fair share of challenges. After a period of patiently waiting, one of the biographies I reviewed was returned to me with notes. Marie Oury, a graduate student and one of Florida-France Soldier Stories’ most valuable resources sent me a message indicating that she had reviewed my work on the biography of George Surls. Upon taking a look at the file, I was honestly shocked by how much work there would still be before we could even think about publishing.
The Surls bio was the first editing assignment I received from Dr. Lyons, and I really thought I had knocked it out of the park. Honestly, on first inspection, it seemed like a really solid bio. I could tell that the student had put a lot of work into the narrative, and it felt very polished. I think because of that impression, I really let my guard down while editing.
As it turns out, a lot of details really slipped through the cracks. There were a handful of simple issues with the writing conventions that I did not notice in my first pass. Some run-on sentences and weird changes in perspective made it into the version I submitted to Marie. These issues were caught and will be easy enough to address in my next round of revisions.
More troubling were the historical errors. There were a number of instances of factual errors, particularly in the narrative aspects of Surls’ military service. Things I did not catch like geographical errors were easy for Marie, a native of France, to notice and point out. But the many examples of incorrect details of the war effort and battles were in the domain of what I should have noticed.
On closer inspection, and with Marie’s extensive knowledge, I found the various flaws and began researching more accurate information to remedy the mistakes. The work I will be required to do to repair this bio is a little overwhelming. I had initially expected the job of the editor to be more in line with correcting grammatical errors and the occasional citation. What I neglected was the fact that the FFSS team are not just editors, we are researchers.
On the topic of citations, I also discovered a few glaring mistakes, like incorrect links and mixed-up ordering of the footnotes. These will require some serious attention to detail to correct over the next few days. But that has taught me that with future biographies I will need to put a lot more effort into vetting every source, no matter how good the citation looks.
Overall, this experience was a real gut-check, and showed me that to achieve the goal FFSS has set out to do will require much better consideration in the reviewing and editing process. Ultimately, though it is disappointing to realize I have a lot of growth to do, I do not mind the obligation to get better at my craft and practice something I truly enjoy.
After another productive week with FFSS, I am in a position to begin more assignments to complete the team’s goals. I have now completed preliminary edits of two biographies and will soon begin work on a third. First though, there are a few side projects to accomplish, including my specialized military reviews of a few biographies edited by other members of the team.
These military reviews are directly in line with a special niche I fill within the team. Because of my own military service experience, I am in a unique position to use my greater understanding of military tactics and culture to parse the information in the veteran bios. With my specific knowledge, I will be able to catch slight inaccuracies that might go unnoticed by writers and other editors. This is particularly important work, because a number of readers who find the FFSS bios will likely be veterans themselves, or at least have some detailed knowledge of the subject.
During our bi-weekly Zoom meeting this week, I conferred with a few other members of the team who are nearing completion of their own initial edits on other bios. Once they are ready, they will send those on to me for military review. I can then send them on for geographical review with is the penultimate step in the editing process.
At the end of our meeting, we also discussed a few unique challenges some team members are facing with the bios they are editing. It was incredibly eye-opening to see how different and niche research can be, and the myriad of ways things can go off the rails when constructing a historical narrative. Together, we were able to find solutions to a lot of these challenges, but it was still refreshing to see the creative problem solving required for work as a historical researcher.
This week I was also put in contact with a couple of historians who specialize in the Italian Campaign of World War II. Again, my special situation puts me in a unique position to help the team. Because I am currently living in Italy, I may have an opportunity to attend a few conferences here and represent FFSS to an international audience. Due to my connection to Italy, I have been anticipating a future project similar in nature to FFSS, but exploring the Floridian veterans buried in Italian ABMC locations.
I will be initiating correspondence with these new contacts in the coming week, and learning more about their objectives and any opportunities I may have to meet with them to discuss a shared interest. I look forward to reaching into new depths of what this project represents and exploring history in a direct approach. To learn more about the Italian campaign from experts here in Italy would be a once in a life time opportunity that I cannot pass up.
This week marks my start with the Florida-France Soldier Stories team as an Undergraduate Intern. To kick things off, Dr. Lyons arranged a virtual meeting via Zoom to discuss important goals for the semester and updates on what the team has been working on recently. For me, it was vital to understanding the process and methods used by FFSS to efficiently complete the work they do, and also to meet the other researchers involved in the project.
For some context, FFSS is a UCF based research project with the goal of developing biographies to help memorialize Florida-based veterans of WWII who were killed in action and laid to rest in cemeteries located in France. These biographies are created through intensive and exhaustive research, with primary and secondary sources to provide accurate detail to the narrative of each fallen veteran. This work provides an important voice for war heroes that would otherwise be lost in time.
As for my part on the project, I have been assigned to edit and fact-check a biography written by one of Dr. Lyons’ students. The steps of the FFSS research team begin with compiling initial research on each veteran, which is then assigned to an undergraduate student to use in writing a biography. After this step, the “final” draft of the biography is returned to the team to be checked for accuracy and edited for publication.
The biography I will be editing is for SGT Alfred Weekley of the 45th Infantry Division. Weekley is a particularly special case, in that is children are actually still living and have reached out to FFSS in hopes of getting their father’s digital memorial expedited. With this, I will be working hard to ensure that my edits are completed with significant attention to detail, and in a timely manner so that we can share this gift with Weekley’s surviving family.
I am excited to begin this process and be a part of something so fulfilling. As an Army veteran myself, I see the significance and importance of immortalizing our fallen veterans. Every veteran fights for something, and every veteran’s story is unique. To me, that deserves proper care and attention to provide the opportunity for every soldier, sailor, marine, and airman to be known as more than their battle roster number.
I will spend this weekend and the following week beginning my edits and reporting back to Dr. Lyons and the team about my progress. I will also be involved in a meeting with the team’s previous military specialist to begin a handover of those responsibilities.
Week Two
Initial editing, creative writing, formatting and citations
January 19, 2024
This week, my goal was to complete an initial edit of the biography I have been assigned. To begin, I read through the most recent draft available, first without editing just to understand the content and get a feel for the story. After that, I read through again, this time addressing the simple fixes Dr. Lyons had noted in her review of the current draft. Most of these edits concerned punctuation and grammar, as well as replacing passive voice with more active sentence structure. This comes pretty natural to me, and fortunately Dr. Lyons had already caught and tagged most of the significant mistakes.
Another major problem with this draft of the bio was the flux between present and past tense. It is immediately noticeable to me as a reader when a work switches between the two and is jarring I think to the flow of narrative structure. For this project the convention is to rely entirely on past tense, with the obvious exception being direct quotes that may use present tense. For this step of editing, I simply read through the entire draft again and adjusted every sentence to be in the correct tense.
Some aspects of my editing this week were not so straightforward. Many of the notes Dr. Lyons addressed for revision included restructuring paragraphs and sections to flow more cohesively. I tried my hand at a few of her suggestions, including shifting around some anecdotal information about the veteran’s family. Some other sections were more vague and will require more direction from the team before I feel comfortable making big changes to the bio. Even so, with what little I did feel comfortable restructuring, I appreciated the opportunity to flex my writing skills.
In terms of research, I have a few citations and footnotes to add and edit. There are a few statements in the bio that Dr. Lyons has requested to be backed up with information we have available. This will require me to pour through the sources that have been collected, and if necessary, find new sources to support the work.
One of Dr. Lyons’ notes gave me a chance to use my military background. A clarification about some Army nomenclature was an easy question for me to answer, and it felt good to use my valuable and unique experience. I think this will prove to be an important factor in my future work with the FFSS team.
I finished my editing this week with one final read through, this time keeping an eye out for any stray formatting issues, particularly in the footnotes. These mistakes were usually simple typos, incorrect spacing, and frustrating margins. After this step, I compiled my notes, any questions I had, and the work I had completed, which I emailed to Dr. Lyons for further guidance.
I look forward to receiving feedback from Dr. Lyons and the team and continuing my work on this important task. I hope to have my edits complete and the final draft of this bio fully realized and ready for publication in a timely manner.
Week Three
Further editing, the publishing process, and more responsibility
January 26, 2024
My work with FFSS is progressing comfortably. I have completed my first round of edits for the biography of veteran Alfred Weekley and presented my work to the team. There are still a few loose ends to address before sending the bio on to the next editor, but I feel confident that I can complete the rest during the next week.
The editing process for the FFSS biographies works in multiple stages. The first stage, which I am currently on, requires the initial editor (me) to address all of the concerns noted by Dr. Lyons. This can range from simple grammatical errors to more complex tasks like rearranging sentences and paragraphs. Arguably, the most important part of this step is assessing all the citations and sources to confirm their accuracy and validity.
Once this step is complete, I can send the bio on to the next editor who will assess its military accuracy. For this step there are two members of the team who can parse the work for any discrepancies related to the military-specific details. Those specialists are me and one other intern, as we both have served and have a strong understanding of military terminology and concepts. For this step, we confirm that the veteran’s service-related details are accurate and, in some cases, help to translate technical jargon into lay terms.
The next step for the editing process involves the geographical details. Because these biographies are all written for veterans who fought in, and are now interred within France, there is a great deal of French geography involved in the stories of each veterans’ time in service. Fortunately, our team includes a brilliant grad student (and native of France) who is very familiar with the territory.
Once the military and geographic details are checked and confirmed to be accurate, the biography returns to the original editor who can then submit it to Dr. Lyons for final approval. Assuming everything has been done correctly and the biography meets the standard, it will be published soon after.
With all that explanation out of the way, I now focus on my goals and tasks for the following days. I will soon be done with my edits and ready to send the biography on to the other intern to vet the military accuracy. While I wait for its return, I have a few options for my next steps. During our meeting this week, I was assigned three other biographies to begin editing. One of these I’ve already made decent progress on when I began working with FFSS last semester. I think moving forward I would like to complete that one and send it on to the next level of editing before starting any others.
Dr. Lyons has assured me that my next assignments will not be as polished as the ones I have received thus far. I look forward to the challenge of working on more difficult biographies in the near future. If all goes well, I may even earn myself a co-author credit on a published work very soon.
Week Four
Next steps and more bios
February 2, 2024
In the past week, I completed my preliminary edits for the Alfred Weekley bio and sent them on for the next phase of editing with the other military specialist on the team. I also began work on another bio that I will be responsible for editing. Both of these bios have proven to be challenging in ways, but not particularly difficult. The main obstacle I have faced has just been acclimating to the task and understanding the conventions and expectations.
To finalize my part for the Weekley bio, I spent the beginning of this week working on updating and formatting all footnotes and citations. Most of this was already in great shape when I received the student draft, with just a few spacing and typo issues to correct. There were, however, a couple of new footnotes that needed to be added based on new sections I had created on Dr. Lyons’ recommendation. These were not too difficult, as the student had already completed in depth and comprehensive research. For this task, it was as simple as looking through the student’s archive of sources and finding the right information to support my additions.
My second task this week, was to work on the edits for a second biography. This bio for veteran George Surls is a special case, as I have already begun the work on completing my first draft of edits. I began work on the Surls bio last semester as part of my service-learning project for HIS3600. I chose to work with FFSS for this project after learning about the team through a history department email invitation. I immediately felt a strong connection to the project based on my own military experience. I worked out with my professor, Patricia Farless, an opportunity to begin working with FFSS.
My assignment last semester was a great introduction to the work I have been doing as an intern. I was given a draft of the Surls bio, complete with notes from Dr. Lyons, and offered a chance to edit it in its first step toward publication. Along with the Surls bio, I was given a list of veterans to choose from to complete preliminary research for. The preliminary research was a fun and rewarding task, and may be used for a future biography. In the event that a student is struggling to find sources for an assigned veteran, the FFSS team is able to assist with a compilation of digital research that can seriously help in the writing process.
My draft of the Surls biography, having already been mostly complete, just requires some tightening up and formatting before it to is ready for the next step of editing. And in regards to the next step, I have also received bios ready to be parsed for military accuracy. I will begin those next week once the Surls bio is officially complete on my end.
Week Five
Expertise, challenges, and unique opportunities
February 9, 2024
This week brought a welcome change to my usual workflow. While I am still eagerly awaiting the completion of my peers' biographies for military accuracy review, I decided to delve into researching the various opportunities based in Italy that we had previously discussed. The prospect of meeting with fellow historians at events in Italy filled me with excitement, as I anticipated the unique experiences and insights that awaited me.
Through email correspondence, I was introduced to two esteemed historians, namely Edmund O’Sullivan and Robert Desourdis, who specialize in the Italian front during World War II. O’Sullivan is set to host a conference in the upcoming summer regarding the liberation of Rome. Scheduled to take place in Anzio, this two-day conference will feature a lineup of distinguished speakers and guided tours of the region where the Allied forces made their initial landings at the onset of the Italian campaign. Eager to immerse myself in this enriching experience, I intend to reach out to the event organizers in the following weeks and commence planning for my attendance.
The primary objective of my participation in this retreat is to establish connections with fellow historians engaged in related projects. I aim to leverage this opportunity not only for personal research purposes but also to share valuable insights with our team and perhaps craft a comprehensive journalistic report to be included on the FFSS website. By engaging with other groups dedicated to researching the Italian segment of the European theater, I am hopeful that I may soon contribute to a new initiative focused on developing biographies for the Floridian veterans laid to rest in Italian ABMC sites.
In a related development to my current internship, I have decided to submit a project for presentation at this year’s High Impact Practices symposium. Known for providing a platform that showcases students' hands-on work and real-world experiences, HIP offers an ideal avenue for me to spotlight the service-learning project I initiated back in Fall 2023. This project, which I collaborated on with Dr. Lyons and Marie Oury of FFSS, served as my initial steps into the work that has defined my internship thus far. I look forward to involving Dr. Lyons and the rest of the FFSS team in my preparations for this opportunity to share and reflect upon my learning and growth.
As always, I am excited for the many new experiences I am discovering through this internship and proud of the work I have been able to assist with. I feel that I am really making significant strides toward the future of my career as a historian, and contributing to the community in a way that is unique to our discipline.
Week Six
Professional connections and presenting my work
February 15, 2024
I made real progress this week on a few of my assigned biographies, as well as in exploring new opportunities to showcase my work with FFSS. I began reading and editing with an emphasis on military accuracy, started preliminary review of a third biography, and sent my two previously edited bios on for their following steps. I also got the chance to confer with the team about my participation in the High Impact Practices showcase, and my plan to travel this summer to a World War II conference in Italy.
My initial task this week was to begin work on a new biography that I have been assigned to edit. As with previous bios, I began with a preliminary reading of the text and a quick review of the sources. I can already tell that this work is not quite as polished as some of the others I have edited, but I am very excited to be challenged in a new way with this assignment. I will continue to work on this bio throughout the next week and hope to have my edits finished by the end of the month.
I also received my first edited biography from another member of the team, which I was tasked to check for accuracy regarding the details of the veteran’s military service. I realized in this step that the factuality and accuracy of military information comes second nature to me. The bio was already in great shape, but there were a few things wrong that I caught quickly. For example, the word “brigade” was used in place of “battalion.” To a lot of people that might not seem like a huge mistake, but to a veteran it is incredibly clear that those terms are not interchangeable. There was also an instance where I realized “Armored Division” could and should be shortened as “AD.” Within the FFSS conventions it is common to replace “Infantry Division” with “ID,” but Armored Divisions are talked about far less, so I believe this small edit would have easily gone unnoticed.
In our meeting this week, I also discussed my plan to participate in the HIP showcase at the end of the semester. I received good feedback from Dr. Lyons and the team who I feel like will be a valuable resource in ensuring that my submission gives my work and the work of FFSS the positive attention it deserves. Dr. Lyons suggested that we try to get the first biography I edited published before the symposium so I can present my work from start to finish.
I also mentioned to the team that I plan to attend a conference in May, primarily as an extension of the FFSS team. Needless to say, they were all thrilled to hear that, and offered full support in my efforts to be there. I look forward to representing this project in such an exciting opportunity.
Week Seven
Expertise and representing FFSS
February 23, 2024
Week Eight
Reality check and new perspectives
March 1, 2024
Week Nine
New energy and accomplishments
March 8, 2024
A pattern has developed as of this week. I have received feedback from Marie on the Weekley biography and as expected there were some important issues to address. As with the Surls bio, my first round of edits and revisions missed a few key details and inaccuracies. Fortunately, Marie’s keen eye caught what I could not, and I now have a great list of concerns to work on before sending it for final approval.
Honestly, this did not come as a shock to me following the setbacks with the Surls biography. I assumed there would be problems that I would need to revisit, and with the growth and development of my skills I figured I could recognize the issues myself. I have now completed my re-edits of the Surls bio and will be ready to move forward with it once it has passed military review. So, in the meantime, I will begin my second pass of Weekley.
This week, Marie and I had a one-on-one zoom call to discuss the notes she had suggested. I learned a ton from this interaction and feel that she has set me on the right track to improve my future editing assignments. A major concern she noted was the use of a commercial web source. We looked at the source together and confirmed that it is not valid for scholarly use and is actually full of inaccuracies. In her time editing for FFSS, Marie has seen this source used before, so she immediately recognized it as being erroneous.
We spent some time further discussing the geography of France in a historical context. What I had not previously considered was the shifting border between France and Germany as Hitler claimed French territory under annexation. For this reason, there was unclear understanding of the German front by allied troops in the region. There was also uncertain support for the allied liberation in French towns that had been under German control for years.
This realization made me rethink some of what I had read in my own research, as well as the details of both the Surls and Weekley bios. Using modern geographical landmarks is not the most effective way to describe the landscape of campaigns that took place as allied resistance pushed into German territory. Instead, we must consider the historical context of all borders as they apply to the changing battle lines of WWII.
I will use the tips and information I have gleaned from Marie and the rest of the team as I move forward on the Weekley re-edits and eventually on new biographies that will need more work. I hope to use these failures as learning opportunities to make my work more efficient and consistent in the future. I believe this growth will apply not only to my time as a researcher and editor for FFSS, but also to my career as a professional historian.
Week Ten
Growing and learning through patterns
March 15, 2024
There genuinely is not much new information to report this week. I am finding my rhythm in the process and with that I think it’s natural for the tasks to grow cyclical. As with the Surls biography, the Weekley biography has presented its own challenges. In further review and through discussions with the FFSS team, it’s becoming clear that there is still a lot of work to do before we can even think about publishing. So naturally, I just have to keep working on the most eminent task until that is complete, building up momentum with the easier problems before moving on to more complex obstacles.
Coming back from Spring Break has had some noticeable effects on that momentum, but it’s also clear that I needed a break. I think it’s fair to assume that we can all use a break from time to time just to reset and come back with renewed motivation. On my return to the editing process, I felt reenergized to complete this daunting task, but a little bit rusty in the mechanics of my research and revision method. For inspiration, I looked back at where the bio had started before I began ironing out some of the earlier issues and inaccuracies.
It will take some time, but I have a feeling the improvements I make on the Weekley bio will be significant, and I will be so proud when it finally reaches the publishing stage. Speaking of publishing, I have volunteered to learn more from Marie Oury about how the FFSS bios are published. From what I can tell, I will receive a general lesson on the steps that are required to get a biography added to the website. This should include some “webmaster” type responsibilities that may prove valuable for the future of my career.
This week I also got an introduction to the Inter-Library Loan program, which allows students and faculty to request specific books and other sources that may not be immediately available through the UCF card catalog. I requested a book that was cited in the Weekley bio and hope to confirm its validity as a source and potentially use it for future bios. This is a unique situation in that no other bios, at least none Marie is aware of, have used this specific source.
The only other topic to report is a review of our bi-weekly team meeting. Similar notes were shared as in meetings past, as well as a chance to confirm each team member’s current tasks and responsibilities. We also further discussed my future on the FFSS team, as well as the possibility of attending conferences based in Europe. This would of course be a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to represent our project, as well as expand my own network to further my career.
Week Twelve
Continuing the cycle of work
March 30, 2024
The major focus of this week has been prioritizing tasks to manage my time most efficiently. With the Weekley biography proving to be an exceptionally difficult project for me, I have decided it would be in my best interest to break down each section into smaller more manageable goals. This has been a common method for me in the past when approaching challenges of this scale, and I honestly wish I had thought to take this route sooner.
The tremendous depth of the notes I was given regarding the biography was incredibly daunting at first. So much so, that I found myself unsure of where or how to begin. With it being clear that I would effectively have to rewrite large sections of the bio and research my own sources, it felt like an unsettling amount of work to get through while balancing my other classes. For that reason, I honestly let it sit untouched for longer than I should have. Instead, I focused on other assignments and tasks that seemed more approachable.
Realizing I had to break out of that mentality and make real progress, I opted to make a detailed list of every issue I would need to address before the biography could move on. This week, I went through the text again, line by line, and made note of every detail that would need to be edited, corrected, or even fully rewritten. I also relied heavily on the notes Marie and Dr. Lyons suggested during their revisions. In all, I was left with a page of concerns, some more challenging than others, which I have begun working through.
This process is slow, tedious, and not exactly exciting. I find it incredibly frustrating to have to redo so much of this biography because the student used such poor sources and incorrect information. But I also recognize that I cannot use that as an excuse not to do my best to revise it and prepare it for publication. I am sure in the future there will be biographies that make this one seem like a cakewalk in comparison.
I still have a good deal to accomplish from my check list before the biography is ready to move ahead to Dr. Lyons for final review. Before that I will be running it by Marie and other members of the team to confirm that it is ready. I have found with this internship that the more experienced input I can get may make my job more difficult and time consuming, but it will ultimately lead to a better final product.
Aside from the Weekley biography, I am also awaiting feedback on the Surls bio before it too is ready for final review. I have done a good bit of work on my final revisions already and look forward to sharing it with Dr. Lyons and the team when it is ready. This work is difficult and in many ways exhausting, but I am very excited for the pride and relief of seeing something I worked on reach publication.
Week Thirteen
Making the big issues smaller
April 5, 2024
As the semester, and my time as an intern with FFSS draws to a close, I have been working diligently to complete the tasks that I have been assigned. Fortunately, it would seem that I may have more time with Dr. Lyons and the team than originally thought. We have discussed the opportunity for me to continue working with FFSS, at least through the coming summer, which I am thrilled to be considered for. It seems clear now that there will still be work to do on the biographies I have been assigned, and I hope to be the one to complete them and see them through to their respective publications.
This week I have been continuing towards that goal, while also assisting other members of the team with the military review of their own assigned bios. Also, in our bi-weekly meeting, we all got the chance to discuss our various progress and current goals. It would seem that the final weeks of the semester are affecting everyone, as the whole team has mentioned slowing down as other responsibilities and assignments take precedence. Even so, it was nice, as always, to see the team and hear how everyone had been doing.
Next week, I have a meeting with Dr. Lyons to discuss my performance and future opportunities with the team. I look forward to hearing her feedback and offering my further support. Additionally, because Dr. Lyons is also my academic advisor, this will give us the chance to discuss my remaining academic goals and what I hope to accomplish before graduating in the winter. I deeply value Dr. Lyons’ advice and guidance as I work towards the start of my career as a professional historian.
This coming week, I will also be focused on preparing my presentation to showcase the work I have done this semester. I think it will be incredibly valuable and enriching to collect and organize all of the effort I have dedicated to this project. Naturally, I expect this to become a pretty significant part of my portfolio that I will be proud to share with future potential employers and peers.
The presentation will also provide me with a valuable template that I can use next semester when I present my work in the High Impact Practices showcase. I was eligible to present this semester, but I have opted to wait until the fall when I have more to show for my work. I think it will be very impressive to show not just what I have accomplished with FFSS, but also what those accomplishments will become.
Week Fourteen
Preparations for the future
April 12, 2024
So we have reached the end, it would seem. But it really is not the end, not yet at least. This semester I have spent so much time and effort to fulfill my assigned tasks for Florida France Soldier Stories. On the one hand, I am a little disappointed to report that despite my effort there is still plenty of work to be done. On the other hand, that just means I get to keep pressing forward on the projects that I have developed a connection to. And I will continue to do just that when I continue my work with Dr. Lyons and the FFSS team through the summer.
There is probably some well-known parable about how studying and maintaining history can never truly be complete because history grows with every passing day. I assume someone has said something to that effect before and it isn’t a completely original idea of my own construction. Regardless, that’s how I am beginning to feel in the early stages of my career as a professional historian. It seems clear to me that the work is never truly done, and I take comfort in that fact as it provides us with unlimited job security.
I cannot say enough about the value of my experience with FFSS. The world of professional history has been made so much clearer to me by participating in it first-hand. It has also provided me with new and exciting opportunities to explore a more diverse possibility of career paths. Through the wisdom of Dr. Lyons, I recognize so many branches of historical work I can market my experience towards. On her recommendation, I am already looking into other potential internships that will prepare me for my career.
Today, I had the pleasure of presenting my internship experience to a panel of peers and superiors who all recognize the importance and value of the work I have spent the last three months doing. The experience was incredibly gratifying, and I look forward to sharing my work with my history community throughout the future of my career. I fully understand the importance and benefit of sharing experiences with others who can relate.
By my side (virtually) in the showcase presentation was Michael Richardson, the other intern working with FFSS this semester. Michael is a grad student, and in that way a bit of a personified target that I am reaching towards. His experience as a veteran, like mine, has shaped him into the type of historian that will go out of his way to focus on the human element that connects us all. He has shared with me some of the other work he has done for veteran history, and I am excited to learn more about the projects he has been a part of.
I am proud of what I have achieved this semester, with the help of Dr. Lyons and the FFSS team, and I genuinely look forward to discovering how this experience will shape my future, as it already is.
Week Fifteen
The end of an era, for now
April 19, 2024