Internships
The Atlanta Preservation Center continues to develop an internship program for students interested in studies related to preservation. Students from Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, Drew Charter School, and the University of Georgia have participated in our internship program while working on student thesis projects and more.
If you would like to donate funding for an internship, or if you are a student seeking this unique educational opportunity, please contact us today.
The Atlanta Preservation Center is pleased to work with local universities to provide an ideal setting for internship work.
The concept of preservation often involves saving brick-and-mortar buildings, but it has evolved to encompass much more. Preservation reflects an active and holistic state-of-mind. It is a perpetual way of being that establishes a continuum of knowledge from the past to the future. Every story is important. Every perspective is important. As an organization, one of our missions is to assist educational pursuits that expand and preserve knowledge in perpetuity.
Our Recent Interns
Ryan Smith
The Atlanta Preservation Center is delighted to have Mr. Ryan Smith become our next intern. He is a graduate student at Georgia State University earning his master’s in Heritage Preservation. He will focus on Section 106 work and archival materials of the late 19th and early – mid 20th Century Archival materials for donation.
Ryan Smith
The Atlanta Preservation Center is delighted to have Mr. Ryan Smith become our next intern. He is a graduate student at Georgia State University earning his master’s in Heritage Preservation. He will focus on Section 106 work and archival materials of the late 19th and early – mid 20th Century Archival materials for donation.
Ty Selles
Joining the Atlanta Preservation Center as a student intern, Ty Selles is a senior at Charles R. Drew Charter School. Ty is working with the APC to promote the historic preservation of the Pittsburgh neighborhood through a grant from the Society of Architectural Historians and participating with the Atlatna Urban Design Commison to better understand the process and role of Historic Preservation.
Favorite Class: Personal finance
Favorite Thing About Atlanta: The diversity of neighborhoods and the rich history
Looking Forward to the Internship: Exploring the aspects of civil engineering and understanding the whole process behind real estate development, from planning to hands-on work.
Kristen Thomas
Joining the Atlanta Preservation Center this fall as a graduate intern, Kristen Thomas is a second-year student in the Master of Heritage Preservation program at Georgia State University.
Kristen will be supporting the APC’s advocacy efforts, including National Register opportunities at the historic Mount Gilead Campground in Southwest Atlanta.
Kristen Thomas
Joining the Atlanta Preservation Center this fall as a graduate intern, Kristen Thomas is a second-year student in the Master of Heritage Preservation program at Georgia State University.
Kristen will be supporting the APC’s advocacy efforts, including National Register opportunities at the historic Mount Gilead Campground in Southwest Atlanta.
Liam Cochran
Joining the Atlanta Preservation Center this fall as a graduate intern, Liam Cochran is a first-year student in the Masters of Heritage Preservation program at Georgia State University.
From nearby Woodstock, Liam has an interest in local vernacular architecture, particularly anything strange or unique. Liam will be supporting the APC’s advocacy, archival work, and other preservation efforts. Outside of his studies, Liam enjoys cooking and cocktail mixing.
Jaylon Butler
Joining the Atlanta Preservation Center this year as a student intern, Jaylon Butler is a senior at Charles R. Drew Charter School. Jaylon is working with the APC to promote the historic preservation of the Pittsburgh neighborhood through a grant from the Society of Architectural Historians.
Getting to Know Jaylon: Favorite Class?
My favorite class is engineering because we were taught the foundations of coding for Python and made amazing projects in 3 years. None of this would have transpired without my amazing teacher Ms.White.
What is one of your favorite things about Atlanta?
I love how close places are in proximity in Atlanta to be able to get around the city conveniently.
What are you looking forward to with this internship?
I’m looking forward to learning more about preservation, legal matters when it comes to property, and building connections with people who share a similar interest in civil engineering.
Jaylon Butler
Joining the Atlanta Preservation Center this year as a student intern, Jaylon Butler is a senior at Charles R. Drew Charter School. Jaylon is working with the APC to promote the historic preservation of the Pittsburgh neighborhood through a grant from the Society of Architectural Historians.
Getting to Know Jaylon: Favorite Class?
My favorite class is engineering because we were taught the foundations of coding for Python and made amazing projects in 3 years. None of this would have transpired without my amazing teacher Ms.White.
What is one of your favorite things about Atlanta?
I love how close places are in proximity in Atlanta to be able to get around the city conveniently.
What are you looking forward to with this internship?
I’m looking forward to learning more about preservation, legal matters when it comes to property, and building connections with people who share a similar interest in civil engineering.
Marie Ransley
Joining the Atlanta Preservation Center this fall as a graduate intern, Marie is a student in the Masters of Heritage Preservation program at Georgia State University.
Maria is assisting on a prospective National Register application for the c. 1820s Maguire-Livsey House in Gwinnett County. Known as the ‘Promised Land,’ the property represents three significant time periods: the Thomas Maguire ownership from c. 1825-1886, the forty-year post-Maguire tenancy of the property, and the Robert and Morena Livsey ownership from 1926-1969.
Evan Leahy
Joining the Atlanta Preservation Center this summer as a graduate intern, Evan Leahy is a current history graduate student at Georgia State University.What drew Evan to preservation?“I’ve always had a passion for history with a distinct interest in medieval religious dissent. My research throughout my time at Georgia State University has led to me having a fascination with historic preservation and its processes.”This summer, Evan will be working with the APC to document, highlight, and digitize the APC’s records and assist with historic research documentation.
Evan Leahy
Joining the Atlanta Preservation Center this summer as a graduate intern, Evan Leahy is a current history graduate student at Georgia State University.What drew Evan to preservation?“I’ve always had a passion for history with a distinct interest in medieval religious dissent. My research throughout my time at Georgia State University has led to me having a fascination with historic preservation and its processes.”This summer, Evan will be working with the APC to document, highlight, and digitize the APC’s records and assist with historic research documentation.
Cameron J. Nesmith
Graduate student at the University of Georgia, working to earn his master’s degree in Historic Preservation.
From Decatur, GA
What is one of your favorite things about Atlanta?
As an Atlanta native, my favorite part of the city are the black historic communities that capture and characterize the true essence of Atlanta’s demographic makeup.
What is one takeaway from your internship?
Communities such as Sweet Auburn Avenue, Collier Heights, the West End, Kirkwood, and more, are communities that have helped shape and continue to shape, black livelihood in the most predominantly black city in the United States.
Why does preservation matter to you?
Preservation matters to me because I have a responsibility to help preserve, enhance, restore, and rehabilitate black communities and black history in the United States, in order to give agency to groups of people and humanize a race of people, that have been largely excluded and nearly nonexistent, from the broader American social, cultural, and historical narrative of this country and this world. I am responsible for simply giving a voice to the voiceless.
Amber Fischer
Rising 4th-year Public Policy & Psychology double major at Georgia Tech. I am working with Board Member Erika Mitchell as a policy intern for Atlanta Public Schools this summer and we have worked extensively with APC on APS historic preservation policy.
From Dalton, GA
What is one of your favorite things about Atlanta?
One of my favorite things about Atlanta (other than Tech’s campus) is the Beltline- I really enjoy running/eating/shopping around the area!
What is one takeaway from your internship?
One takeaway from my internship is the amount of collaboration historic preservation takes; preservation is so multifaceted that it truly takes policy experts, architects, preservation experts, and so many others to make preservation efforts work!
Why does preservation matter to you?
Preservation matters to me because we all have so much to learn and gain from the past. Preserving an important piece of history acknowledges both the efforts of previous generations and lessons that current and future generations can take with them. David Mitchell has done a wonderful job highlighting the importance of historic preservation in the Civil Rights History of APS throughout my internship!
Amber Fischer
Rising 4th-year Public Policy & Psychology double major at Georgia Tech. I am working with Board Member Erika Mitchell as a policy intern for Atlanta Public Schools this summer and we have worked extensively with APC on APS historic preservation policy.
From Dalton, GA
What is one of your favorite things about Atlanta?
One of my favorite things about Atlanta (other than Tech’s campus) is the Beltline- I really enjoy running/eating/shopping around the area!
What is one takeaway from your internship?
One takeaway from my internship is the amount of collaboration historic preservation takes; preservation is so multifaceted that it truly takes policy experts, architects, preservation experts, and so many others to make preservation efforts work!
Why does preservation matter to you?
Preservation matters to me because we all have so much to learn and gain from the past. Preserving an important piece of history acknowledges both the efforts of previous generations and lessons that current and future generations can take with them. David Mitchell has done a wonderful job highlighting the importance of historic preservation in the Civil Rights History of APS throughout my internship!
Ben Schmidt
Georgia State University, 2023 graduate with a Master in Heritage Preservation, Public History track.
From Canton, GA
What is one of your favorite things about Atlanta?
Its unique position as a Southern city that is internationally, rather than regionally, important.
What is one takeaway from your internship?
In every corner of the city, there are amazing historical landmarks that have helped shape Atlanta into what it is today. It is almost impossible to look around the city and not see at least a few structures that have changed history.
Why does preservation matter to you?
Preservation is the way that a community keeps in touch with itself. Today, the constant spread of skyscrapers and identical, generic blocks makes every city look the same; by preserving the historic fabric of the city, we keep Atlanta, and other cities around the country, from losing their unique cultural identity.
Imiri David
I am a rising senior at Georgia Tech and a Public Policy major.
From Hoschton, GA
What is one of your favorite things about Atlanta?
My favorite thing about Atlanta so far is probably a tie between going to Hawks games and the wings.
What is one takeaway from your internship?
My biggest takeaway from my internship has been learning the history behind how Atlanta was built. Every building, every neighborhood has a story, and through my work with the APC I have been able to learn more about how the city came to be as it is today.
Why does preservation matter to you?
To me, preservation is about preserving this legacy, this story so that others can come to appreciate this city as much as I do.
Imiri David
I am a rising senior at Georgia Tech and a Public Policy major.
From Hoschton, GA
What is one of your favorite things about Atlanta?
My favorite thing about Atlanta so far is probably a tie between going to Hawks games and the wings.
What is one takeaway from your internship?
My biggest takeaway from my internship has been learning the history behind how Atlanta was built. Every building, every neighborhood has a story, and through my work with the APC I have been able to learn more about how the city came to be as it is today.
Why does preservation matter to you?
To me, preservation is about preserving this legacy, this story so that others can come to appreciate this city as much as I do.
Samantha Harvel
Georgia State University, 2023 graduate with a Master of Arts in History.
From Watkinsville, GA
What is one of your favorite things about Atlanta?
The food. My favorite is Blossom Tree on GSU’s campus!
What is one takeaway from your internship?
I had no idea just how many buildings in Atlanta are protected as historic places! Also, the records of the APC are a great way to understand the history of preservation in Atlanta over the last several decades.
