My name is Gracie Forgie and I am entering into my third year at 捆绑SM社区 studying a double major in History and Canadian Studies, and a minor in Political Science. I have a keen interest in Canadian history which makes up a large part of my degree. In my second year at 捆绑SM社区 I took HIST 330: Themes in Canadian History with Prof. Donald Nerbas and this sparked my fascination with the Scottish factor of Canadian history. When I found out there was a summer job opportunity through the Arts Internship Office that could grant me the chance to work with archival material at the Black Watch Museum and Archives, I was tremendously excited to apply! I was intrigued by the idea of learning more about Scottish Canada, as well as getting to handle archival information, and becoming familiar with the responsibilities of archivists. I was hoping to experiment with this career and figure out if it was something I might pursue in my future.
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Over the course of my internship this summer I learned a lot about the history of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada as an organization and regiment. Including that they are Canada鈥檚 oldest Highland regiment and have been involved in many wars including the Boer War, WW1, WWII, various peace keeping and peace-making operations around the world, as well as in Afghanistan. What drew me the most to this position was learning that the Black Watch has, over the years, amassed what is considered the best regimental archives in Canada. The Museum that I worked with is still collecting documents and archival material from the public which it uses for research. I was very grateful to have had to opportunity to work with some of these donated materials.
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I very much enjoyed working with the Museum this summer. My responsibilities with the Black Watch included opening boxes of archives that had been donated to the Museum to figure out what was in them, and then inputting this information into an excel spread sheet. Once every document had been accounted for, I would organize them according to date and sort them into new boxes that would be sent back to the Museum.
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There were many highlight moments of my internship this summer. Particularly, I enjoyed being given a tour of the Black Watch Museum at the Armoury on Rue de Bleury. Mike Cher, the head archivist at the Museum generously gave my colleague Maggie, who worked with the 78th Fraser Highlanders this summer, and I a tour of the Museum at the beginning of our internships. Getting to see the inside of the Armoury and how it functions was both interesting and enlightening. From the slightly cluttered state of the Museum, I realized that I could be a great help to the organization by helping them sort through old and outdated boxes of archives to make way for new donations. After this initial tour of the Museum I had many other exciting moments. Mostly I relished the experience of opening a new box and seeing what was inside. Sometimes it was correspondence from a war long ago. Other times a soldier鈥檚 ID card. However, all of it was exciting information to hold and evaluate as an up and coming historian.
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I did not choose to receive a school credit for my internship, but I am very excited that I was granted this opportunity and believe it will have a tremendous impact on my future studies at 捆绑SM社区, as well as my future career. Becoming familiar with the inner workings of an archive, as well as how to properly handle and index these old and fragile materials has set me up well for future positions with archives. I also enjoyed having to think critically about my actions and the documents I was working with, and I think that this skill will be valuable to me as a historian but also to a future career in any field.
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I am very grateful I was granted funding for this internship. It allowed me to take this opportunity without worrying about the repercussions setting me back financially for my next year at 捆绑SM社区. I owe this to the Dean of Arts, Antonia Maioni. I would like to personally offer my tremendous thanks to her for allowing me to pursue my interest in the field of Canadian history. I look forward to bringing what I have learned from my experiences this summer into my future studies at 捆绑SM社区 and beyond.
