Week 6

 Welcome to Week 6 of this journey with the Veterans' History Project! Work-wise, the load was relatively light this week, with a focus on reorganizing many of the past semester's files and making an account of what is missing from past interviews. Although tedious, this organization is critical to the success of the entire program and our ability to properly archive these valuable oral histories. This will be my main focus over the coming weeks. 

A highlight of this week was the field trip that all the Public History Interns took as a team to the Orange County Regional History Center in downtown Orlando. This is a museum dedicated to the preservation of Orange County and the surrounding region's history and heritage. It was a great opportunity to learn more about the region and the field of public history. The trip started with a hands-on display of a variety of military history artifacts ranging from WW1 to the Global War on Terror. This included the opportunity to take home a vial of sand from Omaha Beach, an opportunity I took full advantage of! This also included a Q&A with some of the museum's curators, educators, and historians. This was an invaluable insight into the field of public history and a great opportunity to pick the brains of those currently working in the field. Following this, we were shown the archives and some of the behind-the-scenes work of the museum. We then got a tour of the museum from some of the curators and educators. This was fascinating for me, as I am not an Orlando native, so the opportunity to learn more about the local history of my new home was an amazing experience. The exhibits ranged in substance from the prehistoric natural history of the region to the first indigenous populations, all the way through Spanish and colonial rule, and straight up to modern-day statehood and legacy as a hub of one of the most populous states in the Union. The exhibits did an excellent and tasteful job of educating all of us on all aspects of the region's history, both good and bad. It was an awesome experience, and I will definitely be returning to visit on my own in the future. 

It's crazy to think how far I've come! It feels like my first blog was just yesterday. Week 6 was a fantastic experience, and I can't wait to see what week 7 has in store!

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