N. Trent Chamberlain 2025 Spring Internship

 Hello Readers! This past week marked an exciting milestone in my internship journey: presenting my work at the High-Impact Practice (HIP) Student Showcase! The showcase is a fantastic UCF event celebrating student projects from HIP-designated courses, highlighting learning, research, and real-world experience. It was a great opportunity to share the project I've been working on at the Military History Museum. My presentation at the HIP Showcase centered on the process of bringing  the Vacanti collection to life. It involved several key stages. First I made sure to talk about the process of accessioning. Carefully cataloging and preserving every item, from World War II ration cards and service medals (including WWII occupation, Korean, and Vietnam War medals) to graduation cards identifying his role as an Aviation Machinist Mate and posters from his time as a recruiter. I wanted people to be able to understand the work that goes into properly preserving these artifacts. Second...

 Hello readers! Checking in for Week 14 of my internship journey at the Military History Museum. As the exhibit featuring Lieutenant Commander Salvatore Vacanti's collection begins to take shape, this week was dedicated to a crucial, often underestimated, element, writing the exhibit labels.   After weeks spent carefully accessioning, researching, and planning the layout for the Vacanti collection, it's time to think about how we communicate the stories behind these fascinating objects to our visitors. This week, I focused on drafting the labels that will accompany the artifacts from LCDR Vacanti's naval career, from his World War II ration card and service medals to items documenting his time as a recruiter and aviation machinist mate.   Writing effective exhibit labels is a unique skill. It’s not just about listing facts; it's about crafting a narrative that captures attention and sparks curiosity. Museum visitors are typically standing and have limited attent...

  Hello readers! I'm excited to share that I've officially started the process of creating an exhibit for the Lieutenant Commander Salvatore Vacanti Collection. As you know, this collection is comprised of various personal artifacts, documents, photographs, and other memorabilia generously donated by LCDR Vacanti's daughter. My goal was to transform these items into an engaging and informative exhibit that honors LCDR Vacanti’s service and I think I’ve made a good start in doing just that So far, up until now, I've been hard at work accessioning the collection, which is a crucial step to ensure that everything is cataloged and preserved properly. Now that the collection is properly cataloged I have begun to move forward with the exhibit itself. In the collection, I've found some fascinating artifacts that illustrate LCDR Vacanti's career. These include, A World War II ration card.Various medals, including World War II occupation medals, Korean and Vietnam War se...