My Experience at World Monuments Fund

I started my internship on July 8. Although I have worked in an office environment before, this experience was one of a kind. On my first day here, I can admit I was a bit excited, but who wouldn’t be? Not everyone gets the chance to say they work in the Empire State Building. That morning I met with Margot Note, the Director of Archives and Information Management, who gave me a brief tour of the office and introduced me to most of the staff. The staff seemed very open and pleased to meet me which made me feel very welcomed. After the tour Margot escorted me to my desk, which I didn’t even think I would get the privilege to have, and introduced me to Ed Guillen, the IT specialist, who showed me how to work and utilize my computer. After hearing all of this I felt like this was the real deal, even though I have worked in the office environment before, I never had the chance to have my own desk and computer, so I was excited and nervous at the same time. The first projects Margot had me do were to organize the books in the library and organize some boxes in the closet. These projects really improved my organization skills and helped me be more collaborative. On my lunch break I was amazed by how many places there were to eat! I still keep finding new places when I go out to lunch. When I got back I had a project to do, which was on the computer, it was burning some pictures onto a CD for the programs department.

The next day, which was a Tuesday, I worked with Tiffany Niem in the development department. She explained to me how to use a program called Raisers Edge. I think it was very useful to know how to work this program because it was where most of WMF’s documents were. Tiffany told me to rename certain files so that they would be easier to find if someone was looking for them. I can sure say that was time-consuming, but I could see that it would help the company.

That Friday I worked with Yamilette Yatiz in the finance department, and I was interested to see what she would make me do. She told me to create a new filing system for the new fiscal year. I enjoyed that project because I had experience in that field for my last summer internship. Throughout the weeks of working in WMF my projects varied from day to day, which was a great way of keeping me busy because I learned so many new things. Towards the end of my internship I worked with Stephanie Ortiz, who is also in the programs department, more often. She also gave me a project that I enjoyed. She gave me a thick binder with old Watch nominations from 1998, and said to scan them onto the server so they can be properly saved. It was great to be able to help with that.

My overall experience here at WMF was like no other. I’ve also learned that working in the Empire State Building has its upsides as well. This was an amazing experience and I would recommend it to anyone in my school wondering which internship they should apply to for next year. I appreciate the time and patience each WMF staff member had with me and I hope I helped as much as I could have this summer.