Sociology student explores archaeology at Civil War site in Lynchburg

Paula Addai ’14 combed her fingers through a large pile of dirt. She pushed smaller pieces of sand and gravel through a mesh screen that was laid across the top of a wheelbarrow and carefully scanned the material for anything that might be interesting. The day before, she found a button and a piece of ceramic.

Another student worker on the archaeological dig shouted, “I found another one!” Everyone gathered to see him pull a minie ball—a Civil War bullet—from the grounds where a historic battle took placesite.

Paula Addai ’14 scrapes through dirt in search of 

These types of discoveries make the tedious excavation, scraping, and sifting worthwhile, Addai said. “I love digging and finding stuff. That satisfaction is really rewarding.”

Addai is participating in an archaeology field school led by Lori Lee, Randolph’s Ainsworth Visiting Professor of American Culture. They are digging to discover artifacts and buried walls at Sandusky, a plantation that Union forces took control of and used as their headquarters while attacking Lynchburg in 1864. Although the Union army had ravaged much of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, they were repulsed by Confederate forces in Lynchburg.

Lee, an anthropologist who specializes in antebellum Virginia plantations, is leading the excavation at Sandusky to help find the footprint of the Civil War-era kitchen that once stood on the property so an accurate reconstruction can take place. Also, the crew is searching for historical artifacts that would otherwise be lost or damaged if the kitchen is rebuilt. They have found minie balls, a pocket watch fob from the early 1900s, harmonica plates, and other items.

Lee is especially interested in finding connections between Sandusky and Poplar Forest, a home built by Thomas Jefferson, because the two plantations were owned by relatives during the Civil War period.

Lori Lee takes a picture of a minie ball uncovered at Sandusky, a house
that served as Union headquarters during the Battle of Lynchburg.

In the first few days of work, the group found a buried brick walkway and also discovered where they think the walls of the kitchen were. They are currently trying to find the foundation. “It was really nice to be able to start to make sense of what has happened out here,” Lee said.

Most of the students on the project are history students from Lynchburg College, which has a partnership with the Historic Sandusky Foundation. Addai, a sociology major at Randolph, also got involved because she wanted to work on an archaeological project and learn about research methods.

Lee said that this internship is a perfect educational opportunity for Addai. “By doing this project, we do historical research, archaeological research, anthropological interpretation, and we use theoretical frameworks,” she said. “Those are research skills that she can carry on through sociology, and you learn them really well when you apply them in a research setting.”

Addai hopes the experience continues to yield artifacts that will allow her to piece together more information and stories about the culture of the people who lived and worked at Sandusky. “Sociology is all about learning about people’s way of life and society,” she said. “I want to find out what society was like here many years ago, especially about the slaves and how they related to the plantation owners.”

Randolph student develops business plan for local food hub

Tu Nguyen ’15 is developing a plan to help grow business for a local nonprofit that grows organic food.

Two days a week, Nguyen bikes about five miles from the Randolph campus to Lynchburg Grows, an urban farm that provides education programs and grows produce to sell in the region. He became acquainted with Lynchburg Grows last semester while taking “Economics of Food and Sustainability,” a class which studies the economic and social factors related to food production and distribution. Impressed by the operation, Nguyen sought an opportunity to work with the organization. “I sent an e-mail to Lynchburg Grows and asked if they had some internships I could do,” he said.

It turned out that there was an opportunity. The nonprofit needs a business plan for establishing a local food hub that would help local farmers sell produce to large customers such as hospitals and schools. “It would be a cross between a farmer’s market and a wholesale distributor,” explained Nate Foust-Meyer, the Lynchburg Grows farm manager and Nguyen’s supervisor. “It’s a model for bringing local farmers together.”

Having Nguyen handle the economic analysis and write the business plan will allow the project to move forward faster while allowing Foust-Meyer and other staff to focus on the farm operations. “It plays to his strengths and what he’s happy doing,” Foust-Meyer said.

Most of Nguyen’s time is spent crunching numbers, such as the cost of growing produce and the wholesale prices that the target market would be willing to pay. But he occasionally takes a break from the business plan to pull weeds and plant seeds in the Lynchburg Grows greenhouses.

Nguyen also is working in another internship, doing marketing work for a local financial planning office which he discovered through Randolph’s Experiential Learning Center. The two internships together are teaching him lessons that he would like to apply someday in a career as a financial advisor. “I am learning how a real business works,” said Nguyen, who is majoring in economics, mathematics, and physics. “This will be a really good experience for me.”

Philadelphia Zoo internship proves ‘priceless experience’ for Randolph student

Sara Graul ’13 nurtured her love for animals during trips to The Philadelphia Zoo while she was growing up. So when she was given the opportunity to work there, it was too good to pass up.

This summer, Graul interned for the Philadelphia Zoo, the oldest chartered zoo in America. She ran educational stations where she taught zoo guests about conservation while also studying the animals and their habitats.

Sara Graul ’13 worked in education and research programs
in the Philadelphia Zoo this summer.

“This internship was a truly priceless experience that has affected me in a very powerful and positive way,” Graul said. “I have learned how challenging and rewarding it is to be on the front lines of educating people on matters of science and conservation.”

She applied for the position after Doug Shedd, a Randolph biology professor, gave her a list of websites where she could search for summer internships. “I knew that working at a zoo would give me a unique experience getting to work with animals and also closely working with people of all ages in education,” Graul said. “It also would expose me to the entire array of people that make a zoo function.”

She visited Randolph’s Experiential Learning Center for guidance in drafting her resume and application. Shedd provided a recommendation letter, and then Graul snagged the job after a phone interview.

Graul’s responsibilities included education and research. She helped run “exploration stations,” where visitors looked at artifacts and participated in games that taught lessons on conservation. One of the zoo’s major themes this summer was orangutan conservation, so many of her presentations focused on the importance of trees and the effects of palm oil plantations on orangutan habitats.

For the research portion of the internship, Graul was assigned to observe various animals and events to help with ongoing research projects. She also designed her own research, which investigated interactions between the zoo’s male and female rhinoceros hornbills, “Bob” and “Nancy.” She concluded that project with a research paper and three presentations to the public.

Graul said her college studies helped prepare her to get the most out of the internship. “The material that I’ve learned at Randolph allowed me to field questions that many others could not,” Graul said. “I was able to engage in thoughtful discussions with staff concerning important issues facing science today. I also had a solid foundation to start with, allowing me to really take advantage of the knowledge that was given to me at the zoo and also to be confident in teaching others the principles of biology and conservation.”

Internship in the Alaskan wilderness

Imagine taking care of a vast Alaskan wilderness for an entire summer. It is about the farthest you can get from a paper-pushing desk job, which makes it perfect for Nick Cornell ’14.

Cornell is participating in a summer internship program in Alaska’s Kachemak Bay State Park. His summer “office” consists of 400,000 acres of mountains, valleys, streams, and lakes. “I wanted to be outside,” said Cornell, a native of Front Royal, Virginia, who is majoring in environmental studies. “I didn’t want to be bored in an office.”

Two years ago, Cornell and his family vacationed in Alaska and visited numerous tourist attractions. That experience made him think about returning to take in more of the wilderness areas.

Cornell’s trail maintenance crew camps in the park for about 10 to 12 days at a time. They hike to various areas to remove trees from trails, cut weeds, and build bridges. Some parts of the park are only accessible by boat, so they spend some time on the water as well.

“This internship has definitely sparked my interest in working with a parks system in a state or at the national level,” he said. “It has taught me how much work you need to put in to make a state park accessible to the public.”

Working in an internship far from home was perfect  “It’s always good to try something, go somewhere, get out of your comfort zone, and explore the country,” Cornell said. “You never know what might spark your interest.”

TV station internship opens door to job for Randolph student

A summer internship has turned into a full-time job for one Randolph College senior.

Ryan Blackwell '13 adjusts settings on a camera during a news broadcast. He
joined WSET as an intern and then was hired as a full-time production assistant.

A few weeks into his internship,  Ryan Blackwell ’13, a communication studies major, became a production assistant at WSET, an award-winning ABC-affiliated television station near the College, He helps produce three WSET newscasts each day, creating on-screen graphics, controlling sound levels, and operating a live camera.

He signed up for the internship, and then applied for the job, to help him prepare for a career in broadcasting. “It’s mostly about gaining experience during my schooling,” he said. While his classes are preparing him intellectually, he believes “some practical experiences are going to be equally helpful.”

Blackwell’s entrance into the television news world originated from his interest in radio. Growing up in the Washington, D.C., area, he was fascinated with the numerous local talk radio shows. He believes local radio is an important part of a thriving community. “Audio always has resonated with me as an interesting medium, and is one of the most versatile ways for disseminating information and telling a story,” he said.

Ryan Blackwell '13 gives a cue to a news anchor.

When he visited Randolph College for a scholarship  interview, he learned about the student-run radio station WWRM. The station allows students to produce their own shows, and Blackwell launched his own as a first-year. He served as station manager for the WWRM for the past two years.

While exploring radio station internships with the help of Randolph’s Experiential Learning Center, Blackwell learned of the WSET position. Krista Leighton, the career development director, encouraged him to consider the WSET internship because it would offer important hands-on experience.

The internship allowed Blackwell to cultivate technical skills such as graphics editing and audio production. He also learned how to collaborate with others to produce a show with a firm deadline. “Working at WSET has really given me a taste of what it’s like to work on a real production team that has to work through issues real-time,” he said.

The experience also has given Blackwell a new perspective on his academic pursuits. Communication studies majors usually examine media from the perspective of consumers, he said. “Being on the production side, inside the newsroom, and seeing what these reporters actually go thru to create a news product for the masses, has really opened up my eyes.”

While interning, Blackwell heard that the station needed a full-time production assistant, so he applied and earned the job. He hopes to continue on a part-time basis during his senior year.

Blackwell said more students should consider fulfilling internships while in college. “You’re definitely going to have to put a lot of time into it, especially when you’re finding and applying for them,” he said. “I would suggest that you go ahead and tough it out. It will bring you new opportunities and great experience for whatever you want to do.”

Art Institute of Chicago internship gives student valuable museum experience

Andrew Schaeffer ’14 is getting first-hand experience in the operations of a large museum, working with famous art and visitors from around the world. While he leads tours every day, he gets a glimpse of a career that he hopes is in his future.

Schaeffer was chosen for the 2012 Catherine McCaskill Clark Internship at the Art Institute of Chicago. Funded by alumna Amanda Fox ’67 and her husband Matthew Fox, the internship allows a Randolph student to work at the museum for about eight weeks each summer. It is one of several alumnae-sponsored internships at Randolph College.

“The opportunity to intern at the second largest museum in the United States was too exciting to pass up,” said Schaeffer, a Randolph art history and museum studies major from Greenlawn, N.Y.

The Art Institute of Chicago is home to famous works of art such as French impressionist Georges Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte and American Gothic by Grant Wood.

The internship started with two weeks of intense training, which Schaeffer wrote about in a blog that the docent interns are keeping this summer. Then he started leading tours for groups of children, families, and adults.

Schaeffer spends most of his time leading tours and researching art to include in later tours. “The most important thing I have learned is that no tour can ever be replicated exactly,” he said. “Every tour group is unique in terms of its makeup of people, ideas, and cultures, causing each tour to be different. You need to be on your toes.”

Schaeffer also attends meetings with offices and departments throughout the Art Institute so he can learn more about how a large-scale museum operates. The experience is helping him prepare for his goal of working for museums after college.