What is your summer student program like?

As a follow-up to what was written in the MAS Winter Calendar about summer student employment, we here at MAS thought that a profile of what one site here in Saskatchewan does would be timely.

Ancient Echoes Interpretive Centre “interprets, conserves, and promotes the history, the peoples, and the assets of the land forming the Eagle Creek Valley and beyond the Coal Mine Ravine at Herschel”. Open for 18 years, Ancient Echoes has had a summer student program the entire time.  There have been successful years and some not so much. But, for the most part, they believe that their program has been effective in attracting summer students year after year.

During the summer season, there have been generally two summer student positions and a coordinator.  With positions funded through Young Canada Works and the Museum Grant Program, the centre advertises them at university departments as well as on the Young Canada Works website. During the interview process, students are assessed according to how they may fit in with the program and help achieve the goals of the centre.  Trained for several weeks, the students are given a variety of tasks.  In addition to giving tours, creating programs, maintaining and upgrading exhibits, and janitorial work, they are expected to help out at the Valley View Tea Room.  This tearoom serves not only as a fundraiser for the centre but is a community-gathering place. Students are expected to assist with this fundraiser and also engage with the community, ensuring that there is continual support for the centre.

Ancient Echoes also believes in giving students the opportunity to gain skills needed to succeed in the future.  One such opportunity includes creating and implementing an interpretive program.  The creation of the program, including the budgeting and topic choice, is completely up to them; past interpretive programs have included the geology of the area and medicinal uses of plants. One student even received university credit for her work!

While the Ancient Echoes is not able to pay summer employees an extremely high wage, it does provide free housing.  This, hopefully, eliminates the stress of finding accommodation in a small rural community.  A teacherage owned by the centre houses the students during the summer season and is used to fundraise during the off-season through rentals to hunters.

Students at Ancient Echoes Interpretive Centre are a necessity and integral to the success of the site.  While the site needs them to be operational, they also allow their employment there to be more than just a place to work; students get to be creative and gain lifelong skills.

What do you think? What is your summer student program like?  Feel free to leave a comment below.

(Like the photos? They were taken by members of the Rosetown Photography Club.)