Luther senior Burwell interns at the National Archives and Records Administration

Luther senior Nathan Burwell of Eagan, Minnesota spent the summer as an intern at the National Archives and Records Administration.

Burwell, son of Michael and Lynn Burwell, graduated from Eagan High School in 2014. He plans to graduate in the spring of 2018 with a major in history.

Burwell spent his time as an intern assisting in the processing and formatting of U.S. Navy muster roll-logs of all enlisted men and women aboard a ship at a given time, using Microsoft Excel.

Throughout the course of his internship, Burwell learned that the role of an archivist can vary greatly depending on what type of project they are working on. In this case, the ability to quickly learn how to read a muster sheet and extract the appropriate data was essential. Burwell also learned the importance of clear communication between a supervisor and supervisees, giving him the opportunity to improve his interpersonal skills.

Approximately 10 percent of Luther students take an internship for academic credit each academic year. The Luther College Career Center assists students with their internship search through resume preparation, networking, online internship searches, career fairs, on-campus interviewing, and connecting the student to alumni through the college’s Alumni Internship Program. Students also meet with a faculty adviser prior to the internship to create an internship learning plan that includes learning goals and assessment benchmarks.

An internship work supervisor also assists in the process by writing an evaluation of the student at the end of the internship. Students complete a self-reflection form to help finalize the learning experience.

A national liberal arts college with an enrollment of 2,050, Luther offers an academic curriculum that leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree in more than 60 majors and pre-professional programs. For more information about Luther visit the college’s website: http://www.luther.edu.