Sofia, Senior at Mizzou
Anthropology major, minors in Ancient Mediterranean Studies, Archaeology, and Italian
Internship at archaeological park and museum, Parco Archeologico di Naxos e Taormina, in Giardini-Naxos, Sicily, Italy

Student statement: “I really wanted to practice and improve my speaking Italian...and technical knowledge. I think by the end of my internship my conversation skills have improved immensely. I was able to do my whole day in Italian; converse with my coworkers, translate for them with tourists, assist tourists in both Italian and English. It required a lot of new vocabulary and a lot of faith in my own conversation skills I did not have before. I also just really wanted to learn more about my field, and I learned so much. I had the opportunity to speak to so many different archaeologists, museum researchers, and other people who contribute to the creation of a museum. I also got a lot of great experience working with museum inventory and cataloguing processes which was a really valuable insight into the way artifacts are catalogued on a local, national, and global scale. It was so fascinating to see the behind-the-scenes work, not only cataloguing but the cleaning, organizing, and maintenance that went along with preparing the museum for tourists and scholars alike every single day. After this internship I feel more prepared than ever to take the next steps for my future career and I feel confident in applying to my master's program with actual experience under my belt...Truly my internship was beyond incredible for me, I cannot think of a single way I could have made this summer more beneficial for me academically and career wise.”