Internship Spotlight: How a trip back in time helped shape the future

Aspiring educator’s work at the Barnum Museum was a lesson in career possibilities

Across academic disciplines, Sacred Heart students are encouraged to explore new opportunities through diverse internship experiences. With each internship, students broaden their horizons and open doors to careers they might not yet have imagined.

Here is one of those stories:

Eliza Lyons ’25, Five-Year Education Program (BA/BS+MAT)

Eliza Lyons’ ’25 recent internship at the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport, CT, was as much a chance to learn about one of the 19th century’s more colorful figures as it was an opportunity to learn more about herself and future possibilities.

Lyons, an aspiring educator, is a student in Sacred Heart’s 4+1 education program. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history at the recent commencement exercises and will spend the next year earning her master’s degree and initial certification in education. In addition to her coursework, she will be student teaching at Central High School in Bridgeport—a residency she began last year. “I absolutely love it, and I love the students,” she said.

Expanding professional horizons

As for her professional aspirations, she still intends to lead a classroom one day. But over the last semester, she became a pivotal member of the museum team, developing educational programs for students and other visitors to help them better understand the life and work of P.T. Barnum.

“I found my love for museum education, which is really a niche topic,” Lyons said.

Barnum is perhaps best known for founding the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, but he was also a successful newspaper publisher and politician, serving a term as mayor of Bridgeport. The Barnum Museum is an authority on Barnum’s life and work and contains more than 60,000 artifacts relating to Barnum, Bridgeport and 19th-century America. It’s not only a repository for unique items but a place of learning.

“I love local history, and I wanted to learn more about Bridgeport history,” Lyons said, who is from Beacon, NY.

“From art prompts to scavenger hunts in the gallery, I’ve developed a bunch of activities that students from kindergarten to high school can follow while visiting the museum,” she said. “The intent is to keep young people entertained and to provide their parents, or teachers, with more information about Barnum and what the museum has to offer.”

Learning new skills

Lyons has done all this work while the museum is closed for renovations, meaning that once it opens, the staff will have a rich foundation to pull from when working with visiting student groups or museum guests.

“Lizzie was a really incredible intern and came willing and excited to participate every day,” said Daryn Reyman-Lock, curator at the museum. “She was motivated, a self-starter and just overall enthusiastic. She really helped the museum put together some great educational materials for various age groups for our gallery and helped promote the museum through social media.”

Indeed, Lyons picked up some social media marketing chops when she proposed a way to connect with the public and highlight the museum’s collection to the masses. It’s teaching history on a broader stage and she loves the work.

“I offered to help with social media,” Lyons said. “I asked them if I could start their TikTok channel and I did.”

She took to the task, combing through the archives to highlight some of the museum’s many objects and reveal the behind-the-scenes work that goes into working at a museum. “The collection is really amazing,” she said. “The other day I found a pair of trapeze shorts that a performer must have worn in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus some 125 years ago.”

Establishing professional connections

Lyons said the experience of getting to work with the staff, including Reyman-Lock, was a wonderful opportunity, leading to close acquaintances and professional references she can connect with throughout her career journey.

Serendipitously, as part of her teaching program at SHU, she’s focused her research on experiential learning and the importance of field trips and off-campus opportunities.

“I was not planning for this kind of crossover, but it’s been great to team that knowledge with the work I’m doing at the museum,” she said.

Kelly Marino, an associate teaching professor in the Sacred Heart University history department, said her department frequently works with Sacred Heart’s Center for Career & Professional Development, to identify internship opportunities where students can expand their horizons.

“Internships allow students to explore working in different professional roles and settings prior to graduation, so they can see if these are areas that they would like to continue after completing their undergraduate degree,” Marino said, adding that students can earn one to three credits upon completion of the internship.

“While many history majors do prepare for a career in teaching, many others explore other opportunities from government work to public history opportunities,” Marino said.

Planning for the future

Lyons plans to focus on secondary education once she completes her master’s degree, but she hasn’t ruled out future avenues. “This experience has shown me there are still other paths to pursue,” she said. “Somewhere down the road, I’ll likely get a second master’s degree in museum studies or library and data science.”

Lyons strongly encourages her fellow Pioneers to consider an internship. “An internship expands your options. And it helps to build a professional network,” she said. “I’d 100% recommend pursuing an internship.”

Get to know more about Sacred Heart University’s job and internship search resources through the Center for Career & Professional Development.