Feb. 19, 2018 — CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) History major Samantha Mendoza was in 12th grade when she decided she wanted to be a librarian.
“I had talked to my dad about it and he suggested I work at the Smithsonian, and that could be my end goal,” Mendoza said. “And I thought I’d be about 80 years old when that happened.”
But it’s happening now.
Mendoza, 26, is working at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. this semester as part of the Smithsonian Minority Awards Program, an internship designed to increase participation among groups not well represented in the museum field.
“The program is designed to provide undergraduate and graduate students opportunities to learn more about the Smithsonian and their academic fields through direct experience in research or museum-related internship projects under the mentorship of research and professional staff members at the Institution’s many museums, research institutes and offices,” the website reads.
Mendoza began her internship on Feb. 5, and is already having the time of her life.
“I’m working with the National Portrait Gallery Education Center,” she said. “I’ve been doing research and watching my research get presented to children and visitors. I do my research on the internet and the National Portrait Gallery database. It’s so interesting!”
None of this would have been possible without Mendoza’s mentor, Chair and Professor of History Frank Barajas, Ph.D., and Professor of Chicana/o Studies Jose Alamillo, Ph.D., who inspired her with a lecturer he brought in from the Smithsonian.
In spring of 2017, Alamillo arranged for a campus presentation from Mireya Loza, Ph.D., curator at the Division of Work and Industry at The Smithsonian and author of Defiant Braceros: How Migrant Workers Fought for Racial, Sexual, and Political Freedom (2016). Barajas recommended Mendoza speak to Loza about an internship.
“She told me the internship was paid and I was very excited,” Mendoza said. “I pretty much just wanted to get on the plane and go with her.”
With guidance from Barajas, Mendoza is close to realizing her dream of becoming a librarian/archivist.
“Samantha is a student who is intellectually curious,” Barajas said. “In addition, she seeks and acts upon direction to achieve her scholastic and career goals.”
Mendoza and her sister, Monique, 32, are both history majors and both will graduate from CSUCI in May. The sisters live together in Ventura.
“I’m unbelievably proud of Samantha’s persistence in her academic career, her persistence even when she’s overwhelmed, and her tenacity in not only completing her capstone but also interviewing for and winning the internship in Washington DC, all while the Thomas Fire was threatening our home,” Monique said. “To be able to walk with her this upcoming May will be a privilege, in more ways than one.”