Goldschmidt Foundation Transforms Internships at the Libraries
The Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation is transforming the internship program at WashU Libraries to enhance student engagement, build diversity, promote student success, and enrich learning and research at WashU and beyond.
The foundation’s generous gift will expand and strengthen the internship program by funding a variety of paid student internships from 2024 to 2026. Paid internships attract a more diverse group of participants and provide crucial financial support. There are seven internship opportunities supporting nine to eleven interns each year. The enhanced internship program spans various departments and programs, enabling the Libraries to pilot new positions and build connections internally as well as with other units on campus. Interns work with staff to acquire skills, knowledge, and hands-on experiences.
The Goldschmidt Foundation’s gifts are made possible through the generosity of the family of Walter and Karla Goldschmidt, including their son, Jim Goldschmidt (AB ’73), who is a long-time member of the Libraries National Council. The recent investment builds on the family’s long history of philanthropy at WashU.
“We’re grateful that the Goldschmidts’ generosity has allowed us to both create new opportunities for students to learn and grow and to make our internship program accessible to a broader, more diverse population of students,” says Vice Provost and University Librarian Mimi Calter. “Their support is giving first-generation college students the opportunity to learn about and be comfortable using the full spectrum of research support services the library offers, and is also helping shape and diversify the next generation of scholars.”
The Goldschmidt Foundation is supporting the following internships:
Library Associate Internship
Natasha White has been selected as the inaugural Goldschmidt-funded Library Associate Intern. White graduated with an associate of arts degree through the WashU School of Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS) Prison Education Project (PEP) and will continue working on her bachelor’s degree through CAPS while engaged in this internship. The purpose of the new internship program, the first of its kind, is to train and develop skills and experience to be competitive for library associate positions after completion of the two-year internship. Among other responsibilities, White will work with staff to provide incarcerated PEP students access to reference materials for research and coursework.
Expanding Diversity in Academic Librarianship Internship (spring and summer)
These internships are an integral part of the Libraries’ commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (IDEA), and contribute to a national effort to increase the number of diverse students who obtain degrees in library and information studies. Zoe Al-Tawiti, an Arts & Sciences undergraduate student, was the spring intern, and Beza Dagne, a global studies major, born and raised in Ethiopia, was the summer intern. The interns explored library outreach activities and events centered on IDEA and worked on projects, including learning how to use the ArcGIS StoryMaps software, creating LibGuides, and assisting with library instruction sessions.
Additionally, the Goldschmidt Foundation is funding the WashU Libraries Summer Diversity Internship for high school students. In collaboration with the WashU College Prep Program, the two-week internship introduces high school juniors to library resources and services important for college success.
Student Public Historian
Tobeya Ibitayo, a second-year student in the Master of Public Health program at WashU, was selected as the student public historian at the Libraries. In this position, he will primarily work with university archival collections to assist with reparative descriptions in finding aids and review collections for their relevance to the WashU & Slavery project, a university-wide initiative to examine the historical relationships between the institution of slavery, its legacies, and Washington University. Ibitayo will also work on a public history project of his choosing.
HASTAC Fellowship (Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory)
The Goldschmidt Foundation’s funding of the HASTAC fellowship will contribute to and support the growth of digital humanities at WashU. Two graduate students received the two-year HASTAC fellowship and started working in the Data Services department.
Daria Berman is a PhD student in history. Her work is focused on developing resources for 3D preservation of cultural heritage and creating VR/AR environments to explore. Sadahisa Watanabe is a PhD student in comparative literature. He is exploring the application of machine learning tools and developing a toolkit for handwritten text recognition of the materials in special collections.
STEM Library Internship
This STEM internship will support a graduate student enrolled in an MLS/MLIS program outside WashU (which does not have an MLIS program), who has an interest in exploring STEM academic librarianship as a career.