Exit interview: Sarah Boey on her Historypin internship

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At Historypin, we like to ask our interns to say a few words about what they helped work on and “why Historypin?” once their time with us is complete. We are grateful for the time we had with Sarah, a business major at UC Berkeley, who answered some of our questions below.

Name: Sarah Boey                                                            Sarah Boey

Role: Historypin Analyst

School: UC Berkeley

Internship dates: February-late April 2016

How did you come to hear about Historypin?

The Art History department at Berkeley sent out an email to their undergraduate students about the 100th anniversary celebration for Panama–Pacific International Exposition (a world’s fair held in San Francisco) at our university library, and Historypin was there for a pinathon to map the fair.

Why did you want to work with Historypin?

The time-travel aspect of Historypin, being able to view and access a particular place in a different time, was really interesting for me. I love old buildings/places/photographs because they are great avenues to learn about the background and history of a city and to develop this connection with the area.

Describe an average day for you as a Historypin Analyst and some of the activities you worked on:

I worked with Jon, our Strategic Partnerships Director, to explore growth opportunities for the business with respect to new product development. Specifically, we focused on libraries and museums, looking at identifying industry needs and how Historypin could meet those needs.

What do you do when you’re not at Historypin?

I can mostly be found exploring San Francisco/Berkeley as I just moved here 3 years ago.

What were some of the goals you had at the beginning of the internship and how have you achieved them? What would explore more of if you had more time?

My goals at the beginning of the internship were to get a better understanding of social investment and to learn more about the business of Historypin as a tech-non-profit. The work I did gave me the opportunity to gain an insight into both of these things, and I’m looking forward to hearing about the implementation of our ideas in the future!

How has this internship helped you achieve some of your own development goals?

This internship gave me a chance to engage in the practical application of many of the skills I learnt as a business student in college. Additionally, I spend a lot of my time in museums and libraries, so it was fascinating to learn more about the business side of these institutions as well.

Why do you think people should add their photos and stories to Historypin?

It fosters a greater openness to the diverse range of experiences that people have around the world.

What do you think the future of Historypin looks like, and more broadly, for the cultural heritage sector?

There is this increasing awareness about the importance of cultural heritage institutions and the services that they are able to provide for their local communities. The resulting growth in social investment in this sector is encouraging, and I’m excited about Historypin’s role as a community partner and the opportunities for the business in the industry.