A recent graduate of the University of North Carolina Wilmington was selected for the first internship offered by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of North Carolina (NSCDA-NC), according to a press release.

Allayna Dail, was selected for the NSCDA-NC’s new internship at its headquarters and flagship museum, the Burgwin-Wright House and Gardens. The NSCDA-NC created the Mary Bason Broadfoot Summer Internship to provide an on-the-job educational experience for students in museum studies or library science.

In May, Dail earned her bachelor of art’s degree in history and plans to pursue a master’s degree at UNCW in 2018. After completing her graduate studies, she hopes to pursue a career in museum education and programming.

During her internship, Dail will work on organizing and cataloging the newly created Nimocks Special Collections, an archive and library with hundreds of documents, books, photographs and items chronicling the activities of the NSCDA-NC since its formation in 1894.

Historians and other scholars will be able to access the special collections for research purposes. 

Museum Director Christine Lamberton, who oversees the internship program, says the archive contains a wealth of source materials that illuminate the history of the Lower Cape Fear and the state.

“It also provides insights into the grass root efforts of women’s organizations, such as the NSCDA-NC, in establishing the field of historic preservation,” Lamberton said.

The internship is funded by a gift from Mary Broadfoot Ivie, made in honor of her late mother Mary Bason Broadfoot, for whom the internship is named. Broadfoot served as the non-profit organization’s president from 1979 to 1984.