Museum Internship Allows Garber-Heisinger to Explore Her Passion

Published Thursday, June 07, 2018

Maggie Garber-Heisinger

Maggie Garber-Heisinger’s internship this summer at the Redwood County Historical Museum will give her the experience she needs for her dream job, working at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.

Graber-Heisinger is an intern at the Redwood County Historical Museum as a curator. Her duties include setting up exhibits, organizing fundraisers, giving tours, analyzing new donations and finding their best fit within the museum, and managing their Facebook, Twitter and website.

“I like the independence I am given at the museum. They allow me to set the exhibits how I see fit. I enjoy the day-to-day tasks such as giving tours” she said.

“I have learned to appeal to the visitors and I have gotten better at connecting the items in the museum to tell an accurate story about the county” Graber-Heisinger stated.

“I came from a family that believed in keeping connections from the past. I enjoy learning past events from all over the world and seeing how it has affected us today” she said.

She is a Parkston, S.D., native and a junior History major with a minor in Political Science.

“SMSU is just far enough away from home, but not too far. I love the class sizes and the opportunities my History major will give me” she said.

Graber-Heisinger enjoys the History department for the variety of class subjects taught. The classes that have a rural focus are of particular interest to her, she said.

This internship will give her the experience she needs for her dream job, which she hopes will someday be at a large museum, for instance, at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., or the Minnesota Institute of Art in Minneapolis.

She also spends her time supporting Mustang athletics, volunteering for the Southwest Minnesota History Center and working at the Mustang Zone, where she will be the manager next academic year.