Sara Merkin’s Internship Experience

Hello! My name is Sara Merkin, and I have just finished my Development/Marketing Internship at The Discovery. I was born and raised in Reno, NV, and I am currently a public relations and advertising student at Chapman University in southern California.

As I was preparing to return home for the summer, I was searching for an internship where I could gain experience in a nonprofit setting. The Discovery was the perfect fit, as I was given a broad range of events to participate in, and diverse project tasks to always keep me on my toes!

Sara reading to Camp Discovery participants.

This wasn’t a summer internship of making copies and getting coffee; The Discovery gave me an opportunity to learn through real-world experiences. I attended many events. My favorite was the Microsoft DigiGirlz Camp hosted in partnership with The Discovery. DigiGirlz is a two-day technology camp for high school aged girls held at the University of Nevada, Reno. This camp aims to show young women the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, and gives young women the opportunity to diminish the gender stereotypes of working in the high-tech industry.

Over the course of this internship I wrote and published four blog posts, assisted in event planning and coordination for the Geek Squad Academy technology camp offered in partnership with Best Buy, and much more. I gained more knowledge about the different ways in which nonprofits secure funding to support their mission. I even learned how to copy edit grant proposals and improve my communication skills—both written and oral.

Each day at The Discovery I did something different and exciting. One of my favorite experiences during my internship was supporting a day of Camp Discovery, specifically the “Science of Yuck” camp. Throughout the day I was taking photos of the kids at camp and assisting with their learning activities, like learning about red blood cells, making fake skin, and creating fake wounds! I was able to participate in several different science experiments, explore the museum, and make many new little friends!

Throughout my internship, my supervisors and co-workers were very supportive and helpful while working together to achieve a common goal: “Seek to Inspire.” I am very happy to have gained a great internship experience this summer at The Discovery.

I learned that this science center is an integral part of our community. There are few similar opportunities for children and adults to learn about science and technology in Reno and Northern Nevada. The Discovery is providing many valuable opportunities for children and adults alike to learn and grow.

I hope you’ll share my internship experience with a college student like me who is interested in gaining valuable, real-world experience in a fun and interactive learning environment!

To learn more about The Discovery’s internship opportunities, please visit museum internships.