Summary
Spend your summer gaining hands-on experience inside a rare, intact historic machine shop. Rivers of Steel is offering paid internships at the W.A. Young & Sons Foundry and Machine Shop, where students assist with preservation projects, traditional trade demonstrations, and public interpretation—learning directly from working history.
W.A. YOUNG & SONS MACHINE SHOP SUMMER INTERNSHIP
Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation, managers of the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, is looking for students interested in an opportunity to gain experience in historic preservation, traditional crafts and trades, historic machinery, and historic site interpretation to apply for a summer internship.
POSITION DESCRIPTION
The internship will be located at the W.A. Young & Sons Foundry and Machine Shop in Rices Landing, located in Greene County Pennsylvania. Interns will be mentored by the Rivers of Steel staff at the Machine Shop and will gain hands-on experience assisting with maintenance and preservation projects, as well as interpretive public programming.
Duties may include, but are not limited to:
- assisting with interpretative tours of the site
- interacting with visitors
- participating in conservation and preservation projects
- participating in traditional trade demonstrations such as blacksmithing and metal-casting
- site maintenance and housekeeping
- other duties as assigned
Interns will be asked to keep a daily log of their experience to be submitted at the end of the internship. Rivers of Steel will provide the intern (and any potential sponsoring institutions or organizations) with an evaluation and summary of the internship.
Interns will receive a stipend based on Rivers of Steel’s current intern rate of $20 / hour, plus approved travel expenses.
REQUIREMENTS
- Prospective interns must be recent high school graduates or undergraduate college / trade school students with an expressed interest in history, historic preservation, traditional craft, and/or mechanics and machinery.
- Selected individuals will be expected to participate in summer programs at the W.A. Young & Sons Foundry and Machine Shop for at least three weekend days per month during June, July, and August.
- Interns must have or be able to obtain Pennsylvania Act 33/34 and FBI Clearances.
ABOUT RIVERS OF STEEL
Founded on the principles of heritage development, community partnership, and a reverence for the region’s natural and shared resources, Rivers of Steel strengthens the economic and cultural fabric of western Pennsylvania by fostering dynamic initiatives and transformative experiences.
