Senior at Williamsburg High School for Architecture and Design Reflects on Summer at WMF

For the past three years, WMF has hosted an intern from the Williamsburg High School for Architecture and Design (WHSAD). This summer Stafford Passley, an incoming senior at the school, joined the WMF team for six weeks. We were excited to have him with us, as he helped with numerous time-sensitive projects for various departments. Below is a brief overview of his time at WMF.

I started working as an intern for WMF on July fifth. During my first week, I sat in on the 2012 World Monuments Watch meetings where WMF staff members discussed and assessed the sites in order to see which sites should be recommended for the list. This was a very interesting experience, and I learned a lot about these sites around the world. I really enjoyed sitting in on each meeting.

My supervisor, Margot, taught me various skills that will be useful for future jobs. I have also been accompanying Pauline on different trips to other WHSAD intern sites for interviews that WMF is collecting for a short-length film. We visited one site twice, the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum, where one of my classmates works. The first time we interviewed him and his supervisor for the WHSAD internship video, and the second time we went back for a tour of the museum. The tour was fascinating, helping me understand how the museum's history is incorporated into the history of New York.

Many different activities take place in WMF's office, and what I find most interesting is how everyone works together to accomplish specific tasks efficiently and productively.