Read our PATH student testimonials to see how they are using digital scholarship to tell community stories, build new skills, and create real impact.
Lauren Nowakowski Spring 2025
"The PATH Program gave me the opportunity to apply the GIS skills I learned in the classroom to meaningful, real-world heritage preservation projects with the AIT, while also gaining new experience in archival work with historic maps. This experience strengthened my professional credentials and helped me secure future internships that built upon the knowledge and skills I developed through the program."
Mackenzi Roach Spring 2025; Fall 2025
"This internship has showed so much about living history, archival work, structures, reconstruction, interpretation, and the different cultures present at the missions in San Antonio. I appreciate the ability to work with NPS and AIT as it further expanded my understanding of how we all benefit from the work on this project and how our work is being put directly to use.
The skills I have learned have been extremely useful, consisting of how to do Integrated Pest Management, annual inventory of Accession records, make a proper resume, utilize GIS programs, as well as formulate a clearer understanding of maps and their contents. This internship has inspired me towards a path in the park services and collection management, and it lead to an internship with Fort Laramie and the Student Conservation Association, focusing on living history and Interpretation.
This internship has been extremely insightful and inspiring! I have learned so much and it was a wonderful experience to delve deeper into San Antonio's history."
H. Walker-Tamboli Spring 2025; Summer 2025, Fall 2025
"The internship at AIT allowed me to bring my archival research skills into a real-world nonprofit setting. Additionally, I learned several new applicable skills, like advanced GIS work and georeferencing. The internship also provided us with a chance to do a variety of different tasks, including oral history, data entry, site visits, digitization, and digital exhibit creation. Being able to learn new skills, apply my existing skills, and perform a variety of different tasks makes me feel more prepared for a career in the archival field and any of the challenges that may entail. Anissa Johnson was an excellent mentor; she was very open, easy to communicate with, and incredibly helpful in teaching me new skills. I really appreciated the ability to see what archival work looks like for a nonprofit organization and understand how archival research can be used to advance AIT-SCM’s important social, political, and cultural goals."