There were many students this year that did a job shadow. This entails them leaving school during a specific time to go and work with someone that works in or around the field the student plans to go into after high school. I went to Mullen’s and shadowed their Museum Director, Brianna Jackson.
I plan on going into the archaeology field after high school. In fact, the university I plan on going to is the same place that Brianna went to for her museum archaeology.
In my opinion, Mullen’s was one of the best experiences I have ever had. Not only were the people I interacted with extremely nice to me, but I also learned and did a lot while I was there.
For those who don’t know, Mullen’s is owned by Penny Shaw, the same woman who owns Flying S and several other buildings on Main Street.
While I was there, she gained ownership of the old Village Framery. The woman who owned it before left nearly everything. There was hundreds of photos and items we went through. It was enough to fill three large plastic bins. WE found so many interesting things. Things such as pictures of main street from the 1800s, a flight log book from WWII, Scrapbooks from the 1930s, Ellis family photos from several generations, really the interesting things we found never stopped.
Doing this with Brianna taught me useful things for my future career. I learned how to scan photos and build a physical archives, I learned how to take inventory and how to handle papers from the 1800s that are too fragile to be held normally. And even the days Brianna wasn’t there, the marketing Manager, Melissa, took me under her wing.
She taught me how to build the gift boxes and put together orders. She also talked to me about what she had done before Mullen’s. She worked for the school as a cook. She loved working at the school just as much as working at Mullen’s. I realized while talking to her that a person can have more than one calling, and that some are just made to do more than one thing.
It was these two women that taught me valuable lessons. One my last day, Brianna sat me down and helped me build a resume for future job and college applications. Both of them gave me a gift, and not just the My Life in Sketches book and gift card, but life lessons. Melissa gave me great life advice before I left, and baked me cupcakes.
There really isn’t enough words to describe how thankful I am for these two, and the others at Mullen’s that treated me so kindly. They were always patient with me, even when I’m sure I was being a bit of a bother. They even told me that I was allowed to come in a visit after school, even though they close at four.
To end this article, I guess all I can say is thank you. Thank you to Mullen’s for letting work there, thank you to Mrs. Huffington who came up with the idea, thank you to Penny who welcomed me in. And most of all, Thank you to Brianna who taught me so many things and for just being there to walk me through things. This was truly an experience I will never forget. I hope anyone who reads this will take the time to do a job shadow, at Mullen’s or not.
