Hi everybody!
My name is Rebekah Everett, and for the next 6 months I’ll be based at the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site in Richmond, VA as an OCLP intern. I was born and raised here in Richmond, only a short drive away from my internship location (fun fact: I also attended Maggie L. Walker High School, so Maggie is quickly becoming a recurring character in my life!).
I recently graduated from James Madison University with a B.S. in Geographic Science and a minor in Environmental Studies. I was initially drawn to geography because of how broadly applicable the field and concepts are, and consequently I have developed many academic interests, mainly dealing with the confluence of people, place, nature, and power. Ultimately, I am fascinated by the question of how and why people are drawn to places, and how this sense of place is implicated in our stewardship of the environment and cultural resources. That said, my experience thus far with landscape stewardship and landscape architecture specifically has been fairly limited. While I have some experience with concepts of urban planning and placemaking, part of what interested me about this internship was the opportunity to develop new skills in an area I didn’t get a chance to explore during school. So it’s safe to say – I’m excited to be getting started!
Beyond work and school, my hobbies include amateur astronomy and astrophotography (although I’m not great at it), traveling, reading, and birdwatching, to name a few – I am pretty happy doing any activity that gets me outdoors!
For the duration of this internship I’ll be working with my mentor Tim Layton assisting with Cultural Landscapes Inventories for Valley Forge National Historical Park and Petersburg National Battlefield Park. I am very excited to broaden my horizons and learn new techniques both out in the field and in the office. Because my technical training thus far has mainly focused on cartography and GIS, I am really looking forward to trying my hand at new-to-me programs like Illustrator and AutoCAD and becoming all around more well-rounded with regards to technical ability.
Perhaps most importantly, I am really excited to be working with the National Park Service as I develop my career and academic goals and interests. Returning to my fascination with the intersection of people, place, and nature – I think there’s no better space to explore these relationships and questions than our national parks. For the next six months, I hope to learn everything I can about the Park Service and the roles that park planning, designing, and management play in maintaining these iconic places that belong to all of us.
Until next time!
Rebekah
Designing the Parks 