Having lived in Las Animas throughout my high school years, I became deeply involved with southeastern Colorado history. I spent my years studying and developing children’s programs for Boggsville, a small historic site two miles south of Las Animas. However, I found myself desiring the need to expand my historic knowledge outside of Boggsville and become involved in other historic sites such as the nearby Fort Lyon. In meeting with the Bent County commissioners, we understood there was a need for the community to become more involved with Fort Lyon. The site has undergone a multitude of changes since its establishment in 1852, such as a military fort, prison, hospital, and a homeless rehabilitation community. To hopefully draw the community and tourism back to Fort Lyon, I will be working with Bent County and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs to create a self-guided tour on the history of the fort.
Communication has really never been an issue for me as I am usually a very outgoing person, but I do have problems with using fillers such as “uhm” and “well.” For this internship, I plan to practice speeches beforehand and focus on the use of fillers in my speech.
A leadership goal of mine is to create this tour guide in hopes to draw more tourism from both the community and the outside world to educate themselves on the importance of Fort Lyon’s history through its relationship with the surrounding areas.
During my work at Boggsville Historic Site, I have received the amazing opportunity to create a network within the state and national preservation offices. It has landed me the chance to work at a state museum. However, I’d really like the chance to expand my network into other branches of the state government. I will be working with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs during my internship and can’t wait to create more networking and communication options.
