ProRanger at Independence

Independence Hall greets me as I get to work every day

Hello again from Philadelphia! With all the craziness going on recently, I am excited to have some stability in my internship at Independence National Historical Park! My original plan was to go to Harpers Ferry National Park this summer, but when that fell through I was moved to Everglades National Park. Unfortunately the coronavirus upset those plans as well so I was sent to Independence. But I love going to work every day!

When I began work at Independence, I spent a lot of my time in meetings with supervisors learning about what they did and what makes the park work. It was very insightful! It took a few tries to get everyone’s name remembered, but I’m getting the hang of it.

    I started the internship with the maintenance division. Here I got down in the dirt pulling weeds and doing a lot of lawn work. It was hard work but it looked great when I was done! I also got paired up with a maintenance worker who cannot hear, so I’ve started learning sign language so we can talk.

Working to maintain buildings and grounds with maintenance

I’ve been very impressed with how much history is within this relatively small park. It is one thing to read about the Founding Fathers in history books, but to go to where they lived and worked is a completely different experience. I am happy to help maintain the park so that park visitors can experience the history of Philadelphia in the best ways possible.

It has been great being able to work at such a historic site. I love learning about the history of the United States and working here gives me an opportunity to see historic sites that most people aren’t able to see. On my first day, we walked around to a lot of buildings that were undergoing renovations and saw a lot of cool architecture and artwork that hasn’t been seen by the public for years. We also saw the storerooms for pieces of the original buildings from the 1700’s. I was very interested in seeing the antique woodwork.

The Liberty Bell

I am excited to be working in Independence for my internship and grateful that I can complete my internship despite current events. Working in a city park is a great way to develop my skills as a future ranger, and I’m having a great time working here!