VSFS Achievement Awards in the 2024–2025 Program Year

About this article: This article was originally published in the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail 2025 Annual Report.

Celebrating Excellence

The 2024–2025 Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) program marked one of the most competitive and impactful years in the State Department initiative’s history. With 11,239 applicants, the program selected 2,000 interns, paired them with 800 federal mentors, and supported 500 projects across 47 federal agencies. Within this national landscape of innovation, public service, and digital engagement, the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail achieved exceptional distinction.

This year, the federal agencies submitted 113 project nominations. Four Lewis and Clark NHT projects advanced to the Top 18 Worldwide—a remarkable accomplishment reflecting the trail’s commitment to digital stewardship, accessibility, and collaborative public history. These projects included:

• Tent of Many Voices (Award Recipient) Bicentennial Film Project

• Geotourism GIS and Mapping / Storyboard Initiative

• Lewis, Clark, and Parks on the World Stage: International Affairs & Research

• Lewis and Clark Learning & Research Center Development (West Point, KY)

Of these, three projects reached the national Top 10, and the Tent of Many Voices project earned one of the three top awards, highlighting LECL as a leader in high-impact virtual internships across the federal government.

Map featuring a selection of the recreational datasets developed by student interns this year

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Geotourism GIS / Storyboard Initiative

Interns and trail mentors in a virtual meeting

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The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Resources team continued to build on the success of previous years with the expansion of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) projects developed through the student internship program. Interns for the 2024-2025 academic year included Oregon State University students Casey Harper, Cat Schooley, Chelsea Gross, Claire Alcorn, Evan Stone, Nicolas Hurst, Rodger Plack, and Tess Hennessee and Tyler Simmons of Sam Houston State University.

Each of the interns worked collaboratively on a variety of different projects, which included updating the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail auto route, mapping water trails, developing hiking and biking trail routes, creating story maps using historical information, locating historic places, and much more. Trail Outdoor Recreation Planner Larry Calhoun, Geographer Ryan Cooper, and Tribal Liaison Brye Lefler served as mentors and provided guidance to the group of interns. However, the projects were largely self-driven by the interns, who sharpened their teamwork and leadership skills by setting goals, assigning tasks, developing methodologies, and reviewing data. The collection of mapping products developed through the internship program will be shared with the public and will help visitors plan trips and learn more about historic and recreational resources along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

Tent of Many Voices Bicentennial Film Project

The Tent of Many Voices in 2003. The venue offered unique opportunities to share and collect diverse perspectives related to the expedition.

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Among the most compelling achievements was the outstanding performance of the Bicentennial Film Project intern cohort—Madeline Griffin, Julia Custodio, and Bryan Guthrie—who were recognized as one of the strongest project teams in the entire VSFS program.

M. Griffin

Madeline Griffin

Over the past year, this cohort dedicated hundreds of hours to transcribing and restoring Indigenous oral history recordings collected in the Tent of Many Voices during the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial (2003–2006). This four-year national commemoration retraced the 1803–1806 journey of the Corps of Discovery and documented perspectives from dozens of Native American nations whose histories and knowledge systems remain essential to understanding the expedition. Many of these recordings had remained inaccessible in archival storage for decades.

Utilizing cutting-edge AI-assisted transcription tools, the interns played a transformative role in bringing this intangible cultural heritage to the public.

Bryan Guthrie

B. Guthrie

Bryan Guthrie applied his media and technical expertise to digitize and transfer archival audio files while coordinating with AI partners to generate accurate transcription datasets for film and educational use.

Madeline Griffin and Julia Custodio ensured cultural and historical precision by reviewing, researching, proofreading, and carefully editing hundreds of AI-generated transcript pages. Their meticulous attention to detail safeguarded captioning quality, accessibility standards, and the respectful representation of Indigenous voices.

Together, their efforts have enabled the release of a historically significant resource that strengthens public understanding of the Lewis and Clark story and amplifies Indigenous perspectives that have long been underrepresented in traditional accounts.

Hear the stories collected in the Tent of Many Voices.

Lewis and Clark Education and Research Center Development West Point, Kentucky

The intern team clockwise from top: Adele Roulston, Nestor Flores, Kateyln Lam, Bethany Zuchowski, Kaitlyn Lung, and Ethan Ross.

Photos provided by students

Drawn from universities across the United States and abroad, this internship cohort brought together a range of academic backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences to collaborate with Jim Mallory of Lewis and Clark Trust, Richard Ciresi, Mayor of West Point, and Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail to develop and launch The Lewis and Clark Education and Research Center in a former school building in West Point, Kentucky.

Selection of interpretive displays at the Lewis and Clark Education and Research Center

West Point

Students from Columbia University, the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, Penn State, the University of Houston, Emory University, and the University of California San Diego contributed skills spanning history, science, communications, and public engagement. Building on earlier planning, the interns focused on creating exhibits that connect the national story of the Expedition to West Point’s local history, with special attention to the Field brothers and John Shields, both of whom spent significant portions of their lives in the area.

The team led research, exhibit development, social media, and acquisitions to create engaging exhibits both inside the center, and along a walking route through the historic town. Together, the interns’ creativity, collaboration, and professionalism resulted in an interpretive experience that anchors the West Point visitor center and strengthens Ohio River Valley connections to the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

Mackenzie Saenz De Viteri’s Internship and Trail Visit

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“During my Indigenous Connections internship, I had the opportunity to collaborate with a cohort of interns to research Indigenous place names, learn about civil service careers, and embark on a trip exploring parts of the trail.

Towards the end of my internship, I was awarded a grant from Fordham University’s Office of Fellowship Advising to visit several locations along the trail. I first went to St. Louis, Missouri, where I visited the Lewis and Clark Boathouse and Museum and two trail High Potential Historic Sites: the Gateway Arch and St. Charles Historic District. I then traveled to Omaha, Nebraska, where I visited the trail headquarters and met members of the Interpretation and Resources teams. Visiting the trail in person and seeing how my research could be used was very impactful. Overall, this internship and visit showed me many career possibilities and the positive impact I could make in a job as a civil servant.”

Tamástslikt Intern, Jaelynn Rodriguez

Jaelynn Rodriguez (far right) with interpretive trainees at a historic site of the Indigenous peoples of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation

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In partnership with Conservation Legacy, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail successfully placed an intern at the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute this year.

Jaelynn Rodriguez served as an Interpretive Intern in Pendleton, Oregon. Over 19 weeks, she focused on youth education and cataloging archeological collections, reconnecting with the land while gaining professional skills. As a local candidate with deep cultural ties, Jaelynn hoped to spark conversations about long‑term employment. After the internship, she stepped into a temporary Collections Assistant role through January 2025 and earned an education award to support her studies at Portland Community College.

Her proudest accomplishment was securing a grant to launch Agents of Discovery, an interactive augmented reality program that engages youth with missions tied to Tamástslikt’s history and land. This achievement, combined with her work organizing collections, enriched public storytelling and strengthened preservation efforts.

Jaelynn Rodriguez assisted with the displays of the Native American Beadwork temporary exhibit

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Site Supervisor Randall Melton reflected: “Jaelynn quickly learned our systems and assisted with exhibit installations, making her an asset to our organization. While delays prevented completion of one project, she accomplished as much as possible and we hope to keep her on staff to finish launching Agents of Discovery. Jaelynn was a pleasure to have, and I encourage her to continue her education while considering permanent employment with us.”

Jaelynn’s journey illustrates how internships can bridge cultural heritage, youth engagement, and professional growth — leaving a lasting impact on both the site and the community.

Travelers' Rest AmeriCorps VISTA, Bekka Ficek

Bekka flying kites with Visions of Lewis and Clark organizer Terry Zee Lee

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Congratulations to Bekka Ficek as she finishes her term as an AmeriCorps VISTA with Travelers’ Rest Connection in Lolo, Montana. Bekka’s position was funded by Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail through a cooperative agreement with Conservation Legacy.

Bekka spearheaded the installation of the Visions of Lewis and Clark kite exhibit. Working closely with exhibit organizers, Bekka could be found assembling kites, climbing ladders, even going up in scissor lifts to display extraordinary kites created by artists inspired by the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Bekka led outreach efforts during her time at Travelers’ Rest, providing information and hands-on activities at farmer’s markets, festivals, and community events like Downtown Tonight. Bekka brought together several partner agencies and organizations to produce a Bear Aware event at Travelers’ Rest that was covered in local media.

Bekka demonstrating bear spray

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Bekka also helped to expand The Gathering at Tmsmli, a celebration of Indigenous art and culture, to include a field trip day for 300 students on Friday and an Indigenous art market on Saturday.

Throughout the year, Bekka worked hard to write grant proposals and find funding for projects. Bekka’s impact on the park will continue with trail improvements funded by a $50,000 grant she secured from the Montana Trail Stewardship Grant Program.

At a Glance

50 Interns across priority programs, operational needs, and innovation projects.
20,758 Hours of intern service in the 2024-2025 year.
$722K Workforce value

Thank you to all interns for your hard work and commitment to trail priorities in 2025!