Good day fellows. My name is Jiarui Han, and you can call me Lily. I am a remote Social Media and Communications Intern at Harper’s Ferry Center for Media. As for today’s blog, I would like to talk about how I got involved with the National Park Service and the process of overcoming the difficulties of being a remote intern.

Unlike everyone’s journey, mine started differently. I am a sophomore undergrad studying Data Science and Economics, and I would never think that one day I would have the opportunity to work at the NPS. I originally learned about this program in San Francisco, California, and after contacting the MANO Program Manager, I applied out of curiosity. I was soon able to follow up with a visit to Harper's Ferry Center, where I was given a tour of the campus and the Charles Town Conversation Lab. That's when I realized how essential these workers are to the community. I was astounded by the amount of effort that these incredible individuals had put into preserving important artworks and historical artifacts, each of which had its unique narrative to tell.

After that eye-opening experience, I moved to an apartment five hours away from Harper’s Ferry. It was a little disappointing that I couldn’t explore Harper’s Ferry more, but that didn’t stop me from exploring the National Parks near me. I was able to visit the NPS office at the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in Glen Jean, West Virginia, and other nearby state parks. At home, I can connect easily with my mentors and director through Microsoft Teams. Shifting to an online setting may seem unpleasant at first, but it gave me the privilege to travel more while also finishing my work. 

My job this summer is to work on updating new Sharepoint sites and promote Harper’s Ferry Center on Social Media applications. I have just finished the training recently and I am thrilled to tackle my first project on 508 Accessibility Settings. Through these next blogs that I will be posting, I hope to share my journey and growth with you all. Thank you!

Agency: National Park Service

Program: Harpers Ferry Center Program

Location: Harpers Ferry Center for Media Services