I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Mr. Wasileski (BA 鈥�75), for his support of my summer internship with the Maine Chapter of the International Appalachian Trail (IAT).
I was immediately drawn to the internship with the Maine IAT because of my academic background in (mostly early American) history and my passion for and material experience with the outdoors. As a history student, I have worked extensively with and have an appreciation for primary source documents. My desire to intern with the IAT was further driven by my experiences both living and working in rigorous outdoor environments 鈥� I spent ten summers attending a canoe-tripping camp, and two seasons working as a tree planter in northern Ontario and Manitoba. In turn, my material engagement with the environment had informed a more general interest in human-environmental relations, ultimately leading me to explore the concept of political ecology within my academic studies. The internship with the IAT seemed to bring together my academic and personal interests. Additionally, I was intrigued by the prospect of living in and getting to know Maine, a state I had never visited.
The IAT is a nonprofit organization that maintains a network of trails tracing the remnants of the Appalachian Mountain Range on both sides of the Atlantic. The Maine Chapter of the IAT focuses on maintaining and promoting the Maine section of the Trail, which begins (or ends) unofficially at the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail at Mount Katahdin, and officially in the Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument. Materially, the Maine IAT maintains its section of the Trail and provides information to people interested in hiking the Appalachian Mountain Range. Ideologically, the organization endeavors to connect peoples鈥� histories and experiences across both sides of the Atlantic through a common landscape and geological heritage. The IAT is also connected to a network of trail and hikers鈥� associations in the eastern United States and Europe.
As an intern for the IAT, I had two primary responsibilities. Firstly, I was responsible for going through the IAT鈥檚 documents, which have been archived at the Maine Historical Society (MHS). I was given the task of 鈥済etting to know鈥� the organization 鈥� its history, its mission and values, its people, its logistics. Secondly, I helped produce content for the Maine IAT鈥檚 website () and its Instagram profile. I also undertook some annual maintenance with the IAT鈥檚 trail work crew (during trail work/hiking weekends, I made sure to take many photos and keep a journal about my experiences). I wrote short articles and Instagram posts using the information I had identified in MHS documents, as well as snippets of my own experiences on the Trail.
My internship simultaneously gave me the space to pursue my academic interests in early American and environmental history, while also introducing me to the inner-workings of starting and maintaining non-profit organizations. When I came across a subject related to the IAT that I was interested in pursuing further from a historical perspective, I had the room and tools to do so. For example, I worked with the MHS librarians and database to understand and write an article on the history of the border section of the Trail. Additionally, by thoroughly reading the documents related to the IAT鈥檚 founding and by talking to the organization鈥檚 founder (Richard Anderson), current president (Don Hudson), and coordinator (Amy Barker), I became familiar with the efforts and challenges of non-profit organizations, especially in the realm of nature conservancy.
Of course, my internship also indulged my love for the outdoors. As I mentioned above, the highlights of my internship experience were my trail work and hiking weekends with current members of the Maine IAT. Beyond allowing me to see the beauty of the Trail and of Maine, these outings contextualized everything I had read in the MHS documents. I always enjoyed the opportunity to speak with those with those most closely involved with the IAT. I especially appreciated the opportunities to go through photographic slides with the IAT鈥檚 officers and to interview Lil Buddha, one of the Trail鈥檚 most prolific thru-hikers.
Thank you again to the 捆绑SM社区 International Experience Awards founders, and to Mr. Wasileski for making my experience with the IAT possible, successful, and enriching.
