Intern Spotlight: Paige Brown, Communications & History

NPS Photos

Meet Paige Brown and follow her journey with the National Park Service during her two internships. Through a Historically Black Colleges & Universities Internship (HBCUI), Paige worked as an oral historian and communications lead in the national headquarters in Washington, DC.

Who are you?

I am Paige Brown, a rising senior, Strategic Communications major, at Hampton University. I am a 2021 initiate into the Gamma Theta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, the Freddye T. Davy Honors College, and a 2020 initiate of the Phi Eta Sigma Honors Society.

How did you find yourself at the National Park Service?

I found this national Office of Communications internship through the National Park Service’s partner the Greening Youth Foundation. The Foundation helps connect interns from HBCU’s and underrepresented communities to find career opportunities within the National Park Service.

What do you do for the NPS?

I am an intern in the Office of Communications as a communications intern located in the Department of Interior in Washington DC. I created an original communications plan for Juneteenth National Independence Day and led the national communications effort for the agency. I also assisted in updating national webpages and other NPS.gov articles, posted guidance for our parks and programs nationwide to engage in Juneteenth conversations, posted on social media, and created original .gifs that were geared towards educating people about slavery in comparison to modern-day, relatable statistics.

Last year I also interned with the Cultural Resources, Partnerships, and Science Directorate as the oral historian intern. I assisted with interviews from different people in the National Parks Service who had broken cultural barriers during their career. The interviews were created as a podcast and sent to the National Archives.

What do you find most rewarding about your job?

I find representing the Black community in the National Parks Service in a positive light the most rewarding about these internships. I love being able to listen and learn from different people from my community speak about their personal and professional experience. It aids my development as a Black woman.

What are your hobbies?

I love to go to the beach! One of my favorite beaches is Fort Monroe. I also like to thrift shop and spend time with my friends.