I am a graduate student working toward a M.A. in Museum Studies at John F.
Kennedy University. I recently completed two unpaid internships, totalling
four months of full time work. One internship was at the Royal British
Columbia Museum, which probably could not have paid me even if they had the
money because of Immigration Canada restrictions. For my second internship, I
wanted to gain experience at a community-based collecting organization, so I
went to the NAMES Project Foundation to work with the AIDS Memorial Quilt
collection. Though the NAMES Project could not afford to pay me during my
internship, after I was finished I was offered a short-term project position
writing a large grant. To compensate me for the work I did during my
internship, I was given a somewhat higher-than-normal rate of pay to write
the grant. NAMES Project staff were very gracious, acknowledging that if they
could not pay me for my internship, they felt they could at least offer me
some paid work, if only on a short-term basis. This work paid my tuition for
Spring term. I appreciated the money, but equally, I appreciated the
acknowledgement that I am putting myself through graduate school and that my
time and abilities are worth money.

Andrea Mugnier
John F. Kennedy University
Orinda, California
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