My name is Thomas Davies, and I am a fourth-year student at the University of Virginia studying Political Philosophy, Policy & Law with a double major in History. I had the honor and pleasure of spending this summer as a Nau Center intern at Antietam National Battlefield. I’ve loved studying history since maybe third grade and always wanted to be a tour guide of some sort. I was able to have that experience at Antietam, educating visitors and learning more myself. I interacted with the public at the front desk, researched specific parts of the battle that I found interesting, studied and analyzed Antietam’s fee system, and created and gave three specialized programs on different aspects of the battle.

One of the first things that I learned to do at the park was give my own orientation talk, a 25-minute overview of the entire battle. I researched hundreds of pages of sources to put together the full talk, which was one of the most fulfilling parts of the summer. I presented it roughly once a day to audiences of 30 or more people, and I was very proud when I could give the entire talk fully memorized. I loved seeing how engaged visitors became as I learned how to convey the struggles and triumphs faced by the soldiers here at Antietam to a modern audience. All of the Rangers were immensely helpful, giving constant actionable feedback that made my talk better every time I gave it.

I developed two other programs as well, one of which became my niche interest for the summer. One program focused on a specific area of the battlefield, Burnside Bridge. The other was a program I called “The Dogs of War,” highlighting the nine dogs who served at the battlefield. I kept noticing dogs as I researched the other programs, so I decided to focus on them and discuss the impact they made on the men who served. Not only did this bring joy both to visitors and to me, but it also let me delve into a bit of Antietam’s history that is not very well known. The Rangers were extremely supportive, giving me any references to dogs that they found so that I could continue to dig into the research. I also transformed this program into an article that should be published in the Antietam Institute journal this fall.

In addition to my presentations, I also took a keen interest in Antietam’s fee system. I looked back on past years’ revenue numbers in order to analyze whether the park should make changes to its pricing. Especially given recent budget cuts to the National Park Service as a whole, this research became more and more important as the summer progressed. The Rangers were very willing to help me explore this interest, providing me with significant amounts of data and listening to my recommendations. I had a lot of fun investigating the behind-the-scenes details of park operations, and it added another really interesting dimension to my experience this summer.

I’m not sure whether I’d like to fully pursue a career as a National Parks Service Ranger, but my interest has certainly been piqued, especially on the business and recreation fees side of park operations. Regardless, I learned so much from my experiences at Antietam. My interpersonal communication skills have never been sharper, and my confidence in my public speaking abilities has grown tremendously. I think it’s also important to say that my learning this summer has been fun just for the sake of learning. It’s a satisfying feeling to work hard and come close to being a true expert on a subject, and to have so much confidence in your knowledge. It has also been a really healthy environment to work in; everyone at Antietam is chasing a genuine dream of theirs, and they’re encouraging everyone else to do the same. It leads to a very special kind of camaraderie in the office and creates an environment so welcoming and fulfilling I was often sad to be missing it on my days off. I loved interpreting the history of the park for visitors, helping Rangers with their research or the fee programs, and even going on hikes of our trails in order to better understand the unique terrain of this battlefield. I can also say, without a doubt, that I did it surrounded by the best people. I was able to fulfill a childhood dream at Antietam, learn more than I ever thought I would, leave with more cool stories than I could ever tell, and have the best internship I could have hoped for.