Thank You Interns

Kim Goldstein and Alayna Jordan, PHLF Interns. We are grateful to have several college students each semester volunteer their time to assist with educational programs and research projects.

Graduate student Alaina Bernstein from the Rhode Island School of Design and two undergraduates from the University of Pittsburgh––Kimberly Goldstein and Alayna Jordan–– volunteered their time and expertise to PHLF during the first half of 2016.

“Alaina Bernstein (not shown), Kimberly Goldstein, and Alayna Jordan were a great help to PHLF between January and April,” said Louise Sturgess, executive director of PHLF.

A graduate student at the Rhode Island School of Design, Alaina used her skills in interior architecture to propose a new design for PHLF’s front office. She volunteered five days a week from January 12 to February 12, and also assisted with several educational programs. The ideas she proposed are now being considered by professional architects as they move forward on design renovations for PHLF’s front office.

Kimberly Goldstein, who is studying History, Urban Studies, and Historic Preservation at the University of Pittsburgh, led several school tours and prepared worksheets for walking tours in Mt. Washington, Oakland, and Aspinwall. She was among the PHLF representatives who attended the City’s Incorporation Day Celebration on March 18, 2016, and was interviewed by Pittsburgh’s NPR news station. Kim volunteered three days a week from January 13 to May 2. “Interning with PHLF has not only taught me how to apply my education in the real world, but also has reconfirmed my passion for history, community outreach, and historic preservation,” said Kim.

Alayna Jordan, who is majoring in Architectural Studies and Civil Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, volunteered four days a week from January 13 through May 2. She created renderings showing how a property in Wilkinsburg could be improved, and provided research and organizational assistance for many educational programs. This summer, Alayna is interning with the Technical Preservation Services of the National Park Service in Washington, D.C. She also applied for a Diversity Scholarship in the hope that she will be able to attend the National Trust’s Preservation Conference in Houston in November. “The time I spent at PHLF was filled with word documents, stuffing envelopes, and applying postage in preparation for tours, the scholarship program, and the City’s Incorporation Day Celebration––and going on tours. My work paid off in that I now conduct personal tours with my friends and family through new eyes. I thank the experience at PHLF and Al Tannler’s Pittsburgh Architecture in the Twentieth-Century (what a gem!) for broadening and changing my view of Pittsburgh,” said Alayna.