This post is part of our blog series “Scholars Speak,” which features writing from our 2025 cohort of Preservation Scholars. Click the link to learn more about this donor-funded program that aims to increase the breadth of voices in the Texas historical narrative by placing students from underrepresented cultural and ethnic backgrounds in paid, 10-week long summer internship positions at the Texas Historical Commission.
Scholars Speak: The Many Branches of the Public Service Tree
The first half of the internship at the Texas Historical Commission has been very eye-opening for me. What I have learned about public service and creating public history programming is that there are a lot of components that goes into caring for a community and its history. I hadn’t realized that there are many branches of skills and expertise; of professionals collaborating; of projects that are tied to each other, with one needing to be completed to start or complete another project; of more projects being constantly added to the mix of already existing projects; and that there is usually not enough capacity to effectively address each and every preservation need in our state.
But I’m learning that there are people working within the Texas Historical Commission who really care. These are people willing to take on multiple different roles on to deliver what is required. From where I sit, public service is like a big tree that has an array of strong branches, all working and growing together to produce the fruit. My time here has caused me to reflect on my personal history and my future goals more deeply as it pertains to my journey towards becoming an attorney. This experience makes me wonder what my own future colleagues will look like during law school, in projects such as mock trials, moot court, and working on law journals. I hope that the people that I work with will show up in the workplace and take the extra mile when needed to deliver the project, as my colleagues at the THC do every day. I ponder how far I will go as a professional to serve a client? How many effective branches will I have on my tree to produce fruit? I am hopeful that in my future I too will be a part of a big tree, acting as one of those strong branches.