Name: Phoebe Bock
Class Year: 2025
Major: History
Minor: Sociology
Hometown: Lake Oswego, OR
Internship Organization: City of Portland Archives and Records Center
Job Title: Archives Intern
Location: Portland, OR
What's happening at your internship? We would love to hear what kind of work you are doing!
During my internship at the Portland Archives I have been working on digitizing photographs from the Police Investigation files from the American Indian Movement which started in 1968 and spread to Portland in 1969. The collection includes surveillance photographs of protests and individuals, in addition to mug shots of individuals associated with the movement. The goal of this project is to make these materials searchable through digitization and allow more people to find and access them in the archives.
Why did you apply for this internship?
I applied for this internship because I was just curious about what happens in the archives, and I wanted to become involved in a project this summer and learn a new skill.
What has been your favorite part of this internship?
My favorite part of this internship has been learning how to work through the process of digitization. From creating metadata to uploading the photos to the archives management database, I have enjoyed learning each step of the process. I have also enjoyed being in the archives because in my project, I am working with real photos, but there are many other projects people are working on. Researchers are able to visit the archives, so I have been able to learn more about many topics.
What is something you have learned from your internship that you didn't expect?
I did not know what to expect before the start of my internship because I had no previous experience working in the archives, but it was interesting to learn about how the role of what was being created and focused on in the archives could be important. My project is focusing on photographs from the American Indian Movement and since I started the project, I have talked to many people who never learned about the movement before. While I knew that what was accessible in the archives was very important for how we remembered history, I was surprised to see this in the project I was working on.
Visit the Summer Internship Stories page to read more about student internship experiences.