91ֱ��

As part of a significant change to its long-running summer internship support, three students of Gonville & 91ֱ�� received summer internships within College departments, to provide avenues for work experience, opportunities to grow beyond their academic subject and to build connections. 

Previously, the College had provided support to students who already had secured internships in Cambridge or elsewhere, giving them money towards travel and accommodation costs. With all internships within the University now being paid, along with many elsewhere, the College decided to focus instead on creating its own paid internships that would provide additional opportunities for those students who might not otherwise have been able to secure an internship. 

Internships were taken up in Admissions and Outreach, the Development and Alumni Relations Office and the Library.

91ֱ�� Senior Tutor Dr Andrew Spencer said: “We were delighted to offer these new internships this year for our students and they proved very competitive. In supporting the College’s mission through their work, the students could sample a type of work very different from the typical internship and the College benefitted too. It is wonderful to see how much they enjoyed it this year and we already have plans to expand the scheme next year.”

Here the students share their experiences.

Admissions

Eliza Greenwood (History 2024; August, pictured above left)

I took part in the Bridging Week at 91ֱ�� and had done quite a lot of outreach work. I really enjoy signing up to help, so when I heard about the internship, I thought it would be a great opportunity. I’m interested in access and outreach as a career. I really enjoyed it and it definitely supported my wish to potentially pursue this work.  

My role was focused on content for social media. I had shared my ideas in the interview – and then I had to go and carry them out! I also did some administrative work for 91ֱ�� Explore, which was helpful in learning how access schemes are run by the college! I tried to show student life in the videos and published a couple on exam celebrations – like a May Ball and a garden party. It was great fun, and nostalgic to create videos that I myself would have watched as a prospective applicant. 

Library

Katie Duthie (History 2022, pictured centre)

I’ve always been interested in the art of collecting. In first year I took a paper called ‘Collections and Collecting’ where we looked at what it means when people collect things; how the meaning of objects change when included as part of a collection, and the origins of English antiquarian collecting. I was therefore attracted to the internship because of the opportunity to work with a collection of 800 books in 91ֱ�� Library – the Davy Collection. Created by former Master of the College, Martin Davy (d.1839), the collection features an array of theological, medicinal and classical works. During the internship, I conducted an inventory of each book, organised them by topic and style, and created a shelf listing and spine labels for each of them. I also wrote a piece for the College website on one of the Davy books, titled The Natural History of Chocolate.

I have enjoyed gaining an insight into professional librarianship and learning new skills. I’ve really enjoyed working with Mark (Statham, the College Librarian) and the team. There’s a lot more going on behind the scenes than you realise as a student who studies in the library! In September, I will be continuing onto the MPhil in Medieval History at Christ’s College, and I look forward to applying some of the skills I’ve learned over the course of the internship. I’m pleased that whenever I return to 91ֱ��  library and see the Davy Collection, I’ll be able to say, ‘I organised that!’

Development and Alumni Relations

Matilda Sheekey (HSPS 2024, pictured right)

It was a really good opportunity for a six-week placement, learning transferrable skills. I’ve been researching and writing for three projects. One is a donor impact report. I’ve been going through others’ impact reports and collating 91ֱ��’ version. I’ve been going through the database, resolving inconsistencies – for example there are lots of authors and a couple of writers. And I’ve been supporting the preparation for the Telephone Campaign.

It's been wholesome looking at how the Development Office works. I’m on a full Cambridge Bursary plus extra as a student who was on Free School Meals. It’s been nice to see fundraising in action – it’s so important. While preparing the impact report, I’ve been reading about the wide-ranging use of funds – undergraduate support, postgraduate support, access and outreach, Fellows… you don’t realise how much the College does until you go through it all, and the amounts of money being spent necessarily to support education at 91ֱ��. When I become an alumna, I’ll have a better appreciation for it.