The Baltimore Story Welcomes our Spring Intern
Loyola University Maryland student, Miles Senal, has joined The Baltimore Story for the spring as our newest intern. He is a history major and is excited about helping to build out the multi-media aspects of the history section of the website. Miles shares his thoughts on digital history and community based projects below.
Digital humanities aim to provide an electronic medium for researchers and academics to present their data to the public. The Baltimore Story connects educators, students, and neighborhoods with the rich history of Baltimore. The Baltimore Story traces the first slaves that arrived in the United States to systemic racism in the 21st century.
I have never seen such a specific public history project, nor have I worked so closely on such a project. I want to learn how to apply this project to other cities and neighborhoods, and how to understand other public history projects throughout the country. Although I do not know where my career may take me, I intend to take what I learn from The Baltimore Story where I go.
In high school, I went on service trips to West Virginia, New Jersey, and Belize. During my time there, I did not spend time in their schools, I spent time in communities with residents and students my age. If I do return to those places as an educator, I plan on understanding the local history similarly to how I learned about Baltimore neighborhood. Learning does not only take place in the classroom, but in the exploration of students and teachers at home and in libraries. The Baltimore Story is a resource created from the hard work of teachers, residents, and everyone in the community.
—Miles Senal