Meet the 2025 Interns
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at a living history museum? Our summer interns are getting a front-row seat to the action, working on everything from wardrobe to marketing campaigns and collections digitization. Read on to take a peek into their summer projects and experiences.
Every summer the Museum hosts undergraduate and graduate interns from across the country and around the world to experience working at a living history museum. This year, there are eight interns hailing from as far as Texas and as local as Massachusetts. With varied academic and professional backgrounds, their experiences are unique and provide them with the opportunity to explore the operations of the Museum.
Their projects and work are guided by staff experts and historians from across the Museum as they explore
Plimoth Patuxet's award-winning approach to public history. Yet, their internships are not just about the work – they also make life-long
friends and expand their professional networks in a vibrant, residential
living-learning community.
Eliana Dunlap - Horticulture Intern
Scotland Rural College and the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh - BSc in Horticulture with Plantsmanship
Eliana can frequently be seen working hard to redesign the garden space that is tucked behind the Craft Center, all the while creating a management plan for its long term-care.
She decided to spend her summer at the Museum because it encompasses many of her horticultural interests, such as conservation, public horticulture, ethnobotany, and historic gardens. Her hard work is blossoming into success across the campus of the Museum.
Grace Ann Arulanandam - Historical Clothing and Textiles Intern
Boston University - Master's in the History of Art and Architecture
Grace Ann joined the Museum to work closely with material culture and reproductions to understand the labor and skills required to create the garments and objects that she loves to study.
Her main project for the summer is a clothing encyclopedia for Plymouth Colony in the 1670s, which will eventually be used in costuming as the Museum explores the later 17th century. She has been using primary sources to determine what people wore, the materials they had access to, and the more prominent colors while she creates this encyclopedia.
Hope Nickel - Collections Management Intern
Miami University - Bachelor’s in History, Anthropology, and German
Hope has been working on rehousing the Mayflower II Archive and researching the provenance of objects in the Pilgrim Memorabilia Collection. She is also working on an exhibit regarding Mayflower II's early history with Weslee, the Museum Administration Intern.
She wanted to be an intern at Plimoth Patuxet because she loves the Museum's emphasis on multicultural perspectives and inclusion of Indigenous voices, especially as she learns more about putting The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) into practice.
Kate Mason - Marketing Assistant Intern
University of Massachusetts Amherst - BBA in Marketing and Bachelor’s in Arts Administration
Kate has been working with the Marketing team to brainstorm and create content for the Museum’s various social media platforms. Her biggest project has been the creation and editing of videos, and she enjoys exploring how to create fun content while centering the mission of Plimoth Patuxet.
She decided to come to Plimoth Patuxet because of the perfect combination of strong branding, a worldwide audience, and living history programming. Kate hopes to work in museum administration and has loved learning about the behind-the-scenes operations that allow a museum to run.
Reagan Smith - Public History Intern
Baylor University - Master’s in Museum Studies
Reagan has been rotating through the historic sites as a Public History Educator. She is also working on a research memo and Lunch & Learn program that focuses on the events of the 1600s. Her Lunch and Learn program titled, The Forgotten Age of War and Empire: Contextualizing the 1600s, will focus on the turbulent events and fascinating ideas that shaped the 17th century.
Sarah Toole - Historical Costume Production Intern
Mount Holyoke College - BA in History and Minor in Russian Literature and Culture
Sarah came to Plimoth Patuxet because she hopes to pursue a career as a fashion historian, and this program offers the hands-on experience she needs to build that foundation.
As a passionate lover of historical clothing, she enjoys the rare opportunity to deepen her knowledge of 17th-century fashion while gaining practical skills essential for working in museum settings. For her projects, Sarah has been hand-sewing a 17th-century partlet and researching 17th-century outerwear. She hopes to come up with an improved pattern to be used in the wardrobe department.
Taylor Humenay - Museum Theater Intern
Recent Graduate of Seton Hill University’s Bachelor of Arts program in Theater Performance
Taylor joins the Museum as a Theater Intern and Performer. She has been able to aid in some of the rehearsal processes with other scenes and monologues, and even write some scripts for the Museum's Theater Program.
As someone who is very involved with theater, Taylor was drawn to this internship as she believed it would challenge her in ways that would make her a better actress and historian overall.
Weslee Tyler - Museum Administration Intern
Clark University - BA in History, Minor in Management
Weslee is working on budget management, event planning, and education programming coordination. In addition, she and Hope (the Collections Intern) are creating an exhibit on the early history of Mayflower II.
Weslee wanted to intern at Plimoth Patuxet Museums because she has always been interested in New England and early American history, and wanted to learn more about combining her two areas of study: History and Business.