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It’s fair to say that Rebekah Erwin ’16 got a real bang out of her recently completed summer internship at Fort McClary in Kittery, Maine.

Erwin, of Sanford, first connected with Fort McClary, a Maine State Park, in hopes that it could offer her an internship dealing with animals, an experience that could be valuable to her major in Animal Behavior. The park manager, Glenn “Doc” Dochtermann, however, told her that he did not have any animal-related internships to offer.

A year later, though, Erwin, who had by that point added a history minor to her studies, dug out Dochtermann’s contact information, thinking that a Fort McClary internship might be a fun way to earn history credits, and over this past summer Erwin got the experience she was seeking.

Fort McClary, Maine’s southernmost historic site, has served as a garrison since the 1600s. In addition to completing physical tasks associated with the smooth operation of the fort, such as performing tree removal, filling in gravel in the parking lot and sharpening chainsaws, Erwin spent her time at the fort assisting in administrative work and helping to coordinate staff, schedules and interdepartmental activity.

One group with whom she worked was the Friends of Fort McClary, a non-profit interested in preserving the fort and its history. As part of her internship experience, Erwin participated in two historical reenactments that were staged by the Friends—one of the French and Indian War and the other of the Revolutionary War. Adding extra significance to the events was the fact that during Erwin’s internship, the fort—after several years of unsuccessful attempts—finally managed to acquire two historic cannons that had been sitting at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Erwin dressed as a colonial woman for the Revolutionary War reenactment and even learned how to fire a musket—a skill that may come in handy in her future job as a State Trooper, a stepping stone to her ultimate goal of putting her animal behavior degree to use as a trainer of police dogs. Clearly a proponent of internships, Erwin, in addition to interning at Fort McClary, previously completed an internship with the State Police.

“Hands on experiences, especially in the field you have chosen, are really important and can help you decide if that career is really the field for you,” she shared. “My advice for other students is do not wait to find your internship, and don’t settle for an internship that isn’t what you want.”