SECC Intern – Public Archaeology Intern (10 weeks)

Title: SECC Intern – Public Archaeology Intern (10 weeks)

Reports to: Nora Katz, Historian

Location: Based in Jackson, MS     

Status: Seasonal, Full-time, Exempt – 300-hour AmeriCorps Service Term 

Stipend: $690/week – paid bi-weekly   

Other Benefits: Housing is not provided. Uniform shirts, protective equipment, trainings. Other development opportunities as needed and available. $1,459.26 Segal AmeriCorps Education Award upon successful completion of service term. 

Start/end date:  02/12/2024 – 04/26/2024

Positions available: 1

Positions open until filled. 

Southeast Conservation Corps:  
SECC empowering young adults to cultivate compassion, responsibility, and grit through community service, hard work, and environmental stewardship. 

Southeast Conservation Corps (SECC) empowers young people to attain compassion, responsibility and grit through community service, hard work and environmental stewardship. SECC is a local, non-profit, AmeriCorps affiliated organization based out of Chattanooga, TN. SECC selects young adults to complete conservation work projects on public, private and municipal lands throughout the Southeast. SECC fosters the personal development of corps members through environmental stewardship projects and experiential learning. Through community partnerships, SECC provides hands-on job training opportunities to young adults while simultaneously meeting natural resource needs throughout the Southeast.  

Position Description: 

The Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument in Jackson, Mississippi, is a unit of the National Park Service honoring the life, work, and legacies of two important civil rights leaders: Medgar and Myrlie Evers. This internship is within the National Park Services’ History Division, which is responsible for historical research and programming about the Evers family, the rehabilitation and preservation of the Evers Home, and cultural resource management at park sites.

The Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument became a unit of the National Park Service in November 2020. Park staff have spent the past few years developing interpretation, creating foundational documents, and building capacity for programs and partnerships. Part of this site development was an archaeological survey conducted by the Southeast Archeological Center (SEAC), a support operation of the National Park Service’s Southeast Region. The Southeast Archeological Center (SEAC) excavation uncovered approximately 40 artifacts at the Evers Home site, which are now stored at the SEAC facility in Tallahassee, Florida.

With the work of a Public Archaeology Intern, we plan to conduct research about these artifacts and develop interpretive programs to share NPS’s archaeological work with the public. Through this internship, we will facilitate onsite, community-based learning about the importance of archaeology as well as what archaeology can tell us about the Evers family and their neighborhood. Community members will learn more about their neighborhood and city, and site visitors will gain a deeper appreciation for the legacy of the Evers family.

Position Responsibilities: 

1. Conduct research about the cultural landscape of the Evers home and the historic Elraine neighborhood.

• Work with supervisor to conduct archival and secondary research about the Evers home.
• Visit and work in the Mississippi Department of Archives and History archives, which house the Medgar Wiley and Myrlie Beasley Evers Papers.
• Engage with contractors working to develop the park’s Cultural Landscape Report to learn about their research methods and findings
• Weekly seminars with park staff will be held to discuss and learn about the scholarship related to the Evers family and the Elraine neighborhood.

2. Gain a comprehensive understanding of MEMY’s archaeological collection, which is housed at SEAC.

• Visit the SEAC facility in Tallahassee, Florida, to view the collection and meet/build relationships with staff with site supervisor.
• Photograph and document the collection as needed (including compiling documentation that has already been completed by SEAC staff)
• Conduct relevant research about the objects in the collection.
• Training in the proper survey methods from SEAC staff.

3. Develop an archaeology-focused tour of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument.

• Develop a 30-minute-long tour of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument through the lens of archaeology using the research conducted over the course of the internship.
• Lead and interpret tours for park staff and park visitors.
• Create a document/guide with tour text and resources so that park staff can adequately interpret and lead tours.
• Intern will receive consultation from park and regional interpretation staff.
• Create a digital humanities project to share MEMY’s archaeological collection with the public on our website.
• Create a digital humanities project to share MEMY’s archaeological collection with the public on our website.
• Creative control over the how to share the project in a meaningful way. (StoryMaps, video, audio storytelling, etc.)
• Once the intern has chosen a medium for their project, we will work together to find relevant training opportunities.

** THIS INTERNSHIP IS A SEDENTARY**

Minimum Qualifications: 

Bachelor’s degree in history, archaeology, anthropology, or a related field; intern may be a junior or senior in college as well.

Preferred Qualifications: 

Strong applicants should have experience in one or more of the following: archaeology, public history, digital humanities, museums and archives, Civil Rights history, African American history and culture, or southern history and culture. Successful applicants should also have the ability to produce engaging and creative written content, and a passion for public-facing historical research and programs.

AmeriCorps Qualifications:  
To qualify, you must be between the ages of 18 and 30 and a US citizen that has received a high school diploma or GED. All offers of employment are conditional upon completion of an acceptable check of the National Sex Offender Public Registry and federal criminal background check. Must be eligible to receive an AmeriCorps Education Award.   

 Compensation: 
Interns earn a living stipend of $690 per week (paid bi-weekly) before taxes via direct deposit. Housing will not be provided so the ideal candidate should reside in the Florida area. Upon successful completion of their term, interns will receive a Segal AmeriCorps education award in the amount of $1,459.26 for tuition at Title IV accredited learning institutions, AmeriCorps approved non-traditional continued education or paying off student loans. 

Participation and Expedition Behavior: 

• Work effectively as a member of a team despite potentially stressful and difficult conditions. This may require problem-solving on an interpersonal or group level as well as a willingness to accept differences.
• Contribute to a safe learning environment, no harassment of others for any reason.
• Willingness and ability to complete all aspects of the program including conservation projects, education, training, and national service. Members must commit to participating in all crew/team activities, including service days in local communities where applicable.
• Effectively communicate ideas and concerns as they arise directly to supervisors, colleagues, and organization staff.
• Have the cognitive ability to learn necessary skills and apply them to effectively carry out the service work requirements.
• Appropriately always represent the Program and AmeriCorps to the public and project partners.

Safety and Judgment: 

• Effectively communicate danger to others in the form of either a warning of danger others may be encountering or a notification of personal distress, injury or need for assistance. You must be able to do so at a distance of up to 50 meters and in conditions with limited visibility or loud background noise such as darkness or high winds.
• Effectively perceive, understand, and follow direction by others so that you will be able to successfully execute appropriate and perhaps unfamiliar techniques to manage hazards. These directions may be given before the hazard is encountered or may need to be given during exposure to the hazard.
• Stay alert and focused for several hours at a time while traveling and working in varied weather conditions.
• Perceive and comprehend significant and apparent hazards, including those hazards previously identified by others.
• Respond appropriately to stress or crises.
• If taking prescription medications, participants must be able to maintain proper dosage by self-medicating without assistance from others.

 Environmental Ethics: 

Learn and practice ‘Leave no Trace’ techniques.

Outdoor Skills and Fitness (where appropriate): 

• Learn and safely perform fundamental outdoor living/travel and work skills as appropriate to the project. Additionally, remain adequately hydrated, fed, and properly dressed to remain generally healthy and safe, avoiding environmental injuries.
• Live in a physically demanding, possibly remote environment for an uninterrupted period of up to several weeks. Conditions of this environment may vary significantly and may include severe and/or trying weather. The remoteness is such that it may require at a minimum one hour, but perhaps up to 12 hours, to reach the nearest advanced medical care.

 Substance Free: 
In accordance with a drug free workplace, alcohol and drugs are prohibited while participating in AmeriCorps and program activities and while on organization property. 

Additional Notes: 

All applicants must pass a criminal background and motor vehicle background check prior to hiring. 

This program is available to all, without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity or expression, political affiliation, marital or parental status, genetic information, and military service. Where a significant portion of the population eligible to be served needs services or information in a language other than English, the recipient shall take reasonable steps to provide written material of the type ordinarily available to the public in appropriate languages.

To Apply:  

Follow the SECC link and complete the application. Please include 3 references, resume, and copy of your transcripts (unofficial okay). You can put the references in a word doc and upload it alongside your resume. A cover letter is encouraged but not required. 

If you have questions about the position, please contact: 

Nora Katz

Historian

Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument

(601) 345-7211

nora_katz@nps.gov 

If you have questions about the application process, please contact: 

Kahla Stewart

Intern Program Coordinator

Southeast Conservation Corps 

(423) 402-6004

kstewart@conservationlegacy.org