Name: Bailey Reed
Class Year: 2027
Major: Mathematics
Minor: Africana Studies

Internship Organization: Founder’s Hall at Girard College
Internship Title: Historical Research Intern
Location: Philadelphia, PA

What’s happening at your internship? We would love to hear what kind of work you are doing!

This summer, I’ve taken over an expansive historical demographics project tracing Girard College’s student population across its history. Basically, I dug through on-site ledgers, presidents’ reports, and graduation cards, along with online census data, in order to construct a larger picture. I’ve been looking at where students’ families came from, how the racial makeup of the student body shifted over decades, and religious affiliation trends since the College’s founding in 1848.

Polished vs. Unpolished silver goblets

My research is heavily focused on the desegregation era, which has a prominent presence in Girard’s history. Girard was founded exclusively for “white orphan boys”, and it took a decades-long legal and civil rights battle to change. Cecil B. Moore led seven months of daily picketing outside the school’s walls in 1965. The case eventually worked its way through the federal courts, and in 1968 Girard admitted its first Black students – William Dade, Owen Gowans III, Theodore Hicks, and Carl Riley. Tracing that shift directly in the enrollment records and watching the numbers change has been genuinely moving, especially as an Africana Studies student.

Alongside this project, I’ve had quite a few sidequests, including building a bibliography of works that reference Girard College’s archival holdings, tracing club and extracurricular data through yearbooks, digging into the history of yellow fever in Philadelphia (everyone should read A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People, During the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia!), working with our digital assets to put names to faces, and cataloging our extensive postcard collection. I’ve also gotten to work in outward-facing roles with guests and social media, and inward-facing roles like handling materials. It’s been a lot of fun because the museum basically runs as a one-person operation, so I’ve gotten to touch nearly every part of it.

Why did you apply for this internship?

Founder’s Hall secret basement collection

As a Mathematics major, I have been asked this question quite frequently throughout the summer. The short answer is that I love museum work, and wanted to branch out into the research world before starting my thesis next semester. I think that Mathematics definitely has its place in the archival world, and I have used a lot of my digital/ statistical analysis skills throughout my time at Girard. My background is heavily museum-based, and I hope to continue in this field after graduation. I’m grateful that my research ended up centering on desegregation, something I’ve researched heavily during my time at Bryn Mawr.

What has been your favorite part of this internship?

I have really enjoyed my time in the space itself. Founder’s Hall is actually a National Historic Landmark, one of the most important distinctions a building of its kind can have, and the building and its surroundings are beautiful and quite serene. My lunch breaks have been a highlight of the summer, since I get to walk around campus and take in all the beauty of the space. I’ve also come to really appreciate how physical my job can be. I love handling the materials, especially polishing silver. It’s so satisfying!

What is something you have learned from your internship that you didn’t expect?

My favorite postcard in the collection

Unprotected left turns! Working and living in a big city has been very new to me as an Albuquerque-resident-turned-Bryn-Mawr-Student, but the experience has been incredible. I feel like I’ve learned just as much outside my internship as I have within it. Also, through my wonderful boss, I’ve had the chance to meet people at other archival institutions across the city, and it’s been amazing to see the kinds of connections that form within Philadelphia’s historical community.