2nd Week As An Intern at The Witte Museum

 Hello everyone! I am finally on my 2nd week as an intern at the Witte Museum and wow it is intense. Numerous of things to do around the museum and finish as well anywhere I am located.  Now I hope you are ready to read because I sure did numerous of things I never thought I would.
 On July 17th, 2017, I was working with Jo’anna Rosales who is the Volunteer and Internship Program Manager, and although it was a Monday there was tons to learn. Jo’anna noticed that I did not know or was related in using numerous of programs such as Excel 2013, so she decided to let me practice and learn my way through Excel 2013 by doing part of my project in this program. Wow! This program without a doubt was really problematic while I was trying to work on my Volunteer Project. Little by little I would be learning throughout the day and oh let me inform all of you that because I was in Excel 2013 all day I learned how to do graphs that I thought I never was going to learn how to do. Who would’ve known I would learn how to make a 3D Pie Graph? I am eager to absorb anything I can while I work on my project in Excel 2013 because I know one day I will refer to this program and master more of the program in the future. I truly appreciate that Jo’anna gave me this opportunity because although it was tough to absorb and do stuff in such a little time throughout the day, I accomplished more than I thought I would which is wonderful because this will help me finish my project before I even know it.
 On July 18th, 2017, was Free Tuesday and like every Tuesday we have numerous of visitors at the Witte Museum but I wasn’t sitting in an office this time I was actually at the Live Lab shadowing Alana. I got the opportunity to take a few pictures of one of the programs they do at the Live Lab, cut stuff for the Summer Camp, feed the animals and see her present as well to the daycare which her son is part of and who luckily came for a fieldtrip. As all of you can see I had many things going on and my day was going by quick and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to interview Alana, so as we were finish cutting stuff for the Summer Camp I decided to interview her. Interviewing her was amazing! Now I will share what we discussed throughout this wonderful interview. Before she started working at The Witte Museum she was a tutor, worked at the San Antonio Zoo and was a teacher. She started working at The Witte Museum in 2012 as a presenter and then she decided to come back and work once again at The Witte Museum on February 2016. Her favorite thing she likes about her job is that she interacts with the animals. Her recommendations for anyone who is interested in working as her is “Always ask questions”, ”Don’t ever stop learning” and “Don’t ever be afraid to say I don’t know”. Now when I usually interview someone I want to also know about their own personal life so there was a BONUS QUESTION. And I quote, “As we know you are a mother, my question to you is how does your job help you as a mother and how do you also find a way to dedicate time to your son?” As I asked her this question she was shocked and didn’t know how to respond but she said “Wow! I honestly do not know where to start this question was unexpected. Well when I’m doing homework with my son and he asks me something about the museum it gives me a voice of authority and as far as spending time with my son well since I am off on the weekends I dedicate him as much time needed. I have a supportive family system and my husband is great and is very helpful as well. I usually take my son to school in the mornings and after work get him to do his homework and be ready for the next day.” She is a great example of a hardworking woman and mother as well and I was privileged to work and interview her and I truly appreciate her time and for allowing me to experience what her job is about.
  On July 19th,2017 I had the most magnificent, unique and unforgettable experience anyone that works at the museum would want to have. I was with the Helen Holdsworth and she gave me about an hour to finish typing the Facebook Post of the Texas Banded Gecko named Michelle who is our new member. After finishing we headed on to the road and went to a magical place which is The Research and Collection Center. Now she warned me before we went and said “Hope you aren’t afraid of the dark”. As we got to the Research and Collections Center it looked abandoned but she told me the reason why it looks like this and why it is also distant from the Witte Museum is because it is a place where all of the museum and donations have been in storage which are valuable. As we get inside it was dark, so we turned on our flashlights from our phones and as soon as Helen turned on the lights the magic began. As soon as that happened I felt like “Charlie Bucket”, the character from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory because just like he found a golden ticket to go to the Chocolate Factory, I got my golden ticket to go to the Research and Collections Center. I was extremely happy but now let me tell all of you what I saw. I saw sandals(3,000 or 4,000 yrs. old), Shoes, Baskets, Ancient Bowls, Arrows, Costumes,Clothing, Music Recorder, Money Register, Piano, Furniture, Sewing Machine, Variety of Eggs, Insects,Plants, Birds, Rodents, Texas Wild Life Animals, Whale Ribs, Giant Fish, Bald Eagle, Variety of Eggs,Cows Heads, The Circus Station, Canons, Guns, Plane, Carriages, Baby Strollers, Antique Cars, Horse Carriages, Funeral Carriage, Ancient Fire Extinguisher, Variety of Eggs, Battle of The Flowers Gowns, Research Records, oh and that isn’t even half of what other things I saw. I feel very fortunate to have experienced that and I hope one day I will go back to this place because as Helen said to me, “Even if people would stay here all day long they wouldn’t finish seeing everything”. Which is true because we weren’t done seeing everything as well. As we were on our way to the Witte Museum she said, “Imagine you are still at the Collection Center of The Witte Museum, as you have that image, think of something you saw at the Collection Center that interested you & tell me what you would like to see it on display and why do you seek interest in this object? This is what your upcoming Facebook Post will be about.” In my own perspective this is the toughest question ever and reason why is because there was so much to see and I could go on forever about my experience. Thank you Helen for taking me to the Research and Collections Center of The Witte Museum it was certainly an unforgettable experience. After a long day with Helen, I came with Marketing and Kim saw me in the office and asked me to take a picture of her and two men who she was associating for Big Brothers and Big Sisters, which is a program I was part of for approximately five years. I took them some pictures and after that I sat with Katye and Konnor since they would be speaking with the person who will be doing the Billboards for the Witte Museum. Our meeting was a success but after that meeting I started to edit the copies for events which wasn’t bad at all although there was many but I am glad I initiated doing them.
 On July 20th, 2017 I was with Marketing and Communications and as soon as I got here I started my day by finishing what I had initiated the day before with the copies of events. As I finished Katye Brought who is a very intense and hardworking woman asked me to take a few pictures of families interacting throughout the museum so no more was said I was ready to take some pictures. Photography is something I have been doing since I was fourteen years old and I enjoy doing it. After I finished taking the pictures I was seeing which ones were presentable and which ones weren’t. I also kept on updating the Master Media List because there is many changes from 2015 to now. I once again submitted events but now it was in the Texas Public Radio and in Mom Blog. Many events are coming up at The Witte Museum and we want to let people be aware of these events the museum will be such as the 47th Annual Game Dinner: Carrying The Torch With A Texas Flare which will be held on October 16th, 2017 from 6 P.M. to 10:30 P.M.  I had so much information to put into but I enjoy doing these stuff because it also helps me in a way of knowing what events are to come in the future. Katye, Konnor and Brady have helped me so much throughout my internship and so did Nisa. At times we laugh but as soon as we get to work there is no more smiles or laughing just straight faces with eagerness to finish what has to be done for the day. Weare an intense group and I enjoy being part of it. Thank you guys! Each one of you have taught me variety of things I wouldn’t had known or done on my own.

This is the end of my 2nd Week At The Witte Museum and I sure experienced magical moments each day and I hope to continue experiencing these great moments with these wonderful, intense and hardworking people. I can’t wait to explore more the following weeks!



                       Angelica Elizabeth Reyna.Angelica.e.reyna@gmail.com . (210).639.9749.





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