By Miriam Intrator, Head of Archives & Special Collections and Rare Book Librarian
Every fall and spring semester we welcome a new cohort of undergraduate interns to the Mahn Center. The internship is for-credit and open to any undergraduate student, from any department, who has completed their first year at Ohio University while maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA. Likewise, every academic year a new Graduate Assistant from the English department spends the year working in rare books. These students gain real world experience doing research, organizing and describing collections, and supporting the curators in their work by doing everything from helping select items for digitization to contributing to digital and physical exhibits, among many other experiential learning opportunities. This semester three new interns and a Graduate Assistant will be working with the Rare Book Collection. Let’s meet them!
Conrad Burt
Undergraduate intern Conrad Burt (he/him) is double major in History and Music with a minor in German, ’27.
What most excites you about this internship:
Getting tactile experience in the fields of history through work in an archives, building off my work with the Southeast Ohio History Center from summer 2026.
Why you selected the shelf of books in the picture:
I love to read, and thought that the F. Scott Fitzgerald books in the general rare collection were pretty!
Anything else you want to share about yourself, your studies, interests, background, etc.:
My historical special interest pertains to music history! I’m also a percussionist and composer.
Lucas Honkomp
Undergraduate intern Lucas Honkomp (he/him) is pursuing an English Literature, Culture, & Writing Major, Art History Minor, and Italian Certificate, ’27.
What most excites you about this internship:
Having the space and opportunity to explore and experience the Rare Book Collection here in Alden Library. I’ve had some visits to see materials in past classes, but now I’m excited to have wider access to study the contents of the collection even further.
Why you selected the shelf of books in the picture:
The books on this shelf are part of the Lafcadio Hearn Author’s Collection. He was the translator for a special collections book I wrote a research paper on last year, so I was excited to learn that a writer I’m familiar with has a larger presence in the Rare Book Collection.
Anything else you want to share about yourself, your studies, interests, background, etc.:
I recently added an Art History minor and I’m looking forward to seeing how different forms of illustrations (particularly woodblock printing) have been incorporated in different editions of books throughout history which would combine my two areas of study and interest.
Thomas Raulerson
Undergraduate intern Thomas Raulerson is a Linguistics major and Latin & Classics minor, ’27.
What most excites you about this internship:
I am grateful to have been given this opportunity to help catalogue such a wonderful collection as the Mahn Center’s.
Why you selected the shelf of books in the picture:
These books, generally speaking, are important components of Latin literature’s so-called “canon.” I fancy myself somewhat of a Latinist and was happy to find them.
Anything else you want to share about yourself, your studies, interests, background, etc.:
My area of study generally is late Latin, especially Ecclesiastical/Patristic Latin. I also enjoy working with texts in medieval Greek. As a rule, I love any text that is old! The Mahn Center, then, aligns perfectly with my interests.
Mary Moore
Graduate Assistant Mary Moor (she/her) is pursuing a PhD in Literary History and a WGSS Graduate Certificate, ’29.
What most excites you about this graduate assistantship:
Getting to spend time with old books and share our amazing materials with students.
Why you selected the shelf of books in the picture:
These are among the 73 volumes we hold of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, which began publishing in the mid-20th century! My literary interests lie in science fiction, and F&SF was known for publishing more diverse works than its peers. It continues to publish today!
Anything else you want to share about yourself, your studies, interests, background, etc.:
I studied English Literature & History at Middlebury College in Vermont before earning my MLiH in The Book: History & Techniques of Analysis at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Originally from Saint Louis, Missouri, I now study women’s science fiction at OU. I love farmer’s markets, handwritten letters, and playing piano.
Keep Exploring
Read blog posts by previous interns and by graduate assistants, and be on the lookout for announcements about when internship applications open. Closing dates are:
- Internships for fall semester: due end of Friday before Spring Break.
- Internships for spring semester: due end of first Friday of November.