By: Christina Tejada
is the exposure to many different aspects of the National Park Service, from leading interpretive tours, to working closely with objects within the park’s collection alongside the park’s curator. Though the position encompasses two different divisions within the National Park Service, the knowledge acquired through working within both the curatorial and visitor services divisions has led me to have a richer experience and exposed me to new opportunities within the National Park Service that I might not have otherwise experienced.
The first half of my position in the summer and fall was more focused on visitor services and interpretation. In the process of creating interpretive tours of the park grounds and the home of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, I spent a lot of time engaging in the history of the site and the artist. I had the opportunity to engage in the history of the site with a wide variety of audiences throughout the park’s season.
I knew very little about Augustus Saint-Gaudens before arriving at the park, but after reading more about him and learning more about the site in preparation for leading interpretive tours, I learned so much about Augustus Saint-Gaudens as an artist and his relationship with his other contemporary artists and creative people that lived in the Cornish area. I also had the opportunity to explore broader themes of memorialization and the ways in which people in the present and in the past memorialize and remember individuals.