Youth Engagement Digital Communications Specialist

The LHIP project supports a signature youth employment and development program that will engage eight Latino youth (ages 15-18) from urban Boston in exploring their heritage, finding their voices and discovering connections between their own lives and stories associated with the National Parks of Boston (Boston African American National Historic Site, Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park, Boston National Historical Park). Specifically, the candidate selected to fill this position will engage youth in explorations and conversations about Boston’s national parks, while documenting their journeys through recorded interviews, photography, video and written word. The LHIP intern will reach new audiences by sharing teen stories via social media and will prepare audio files for transfer to the Northeastern University’s Latinx Collection.

Through digital story sharing, the intern will provide opportunities for Latinx youth in Boston to share their personal and cultural connections with park themes, thereby raising the visibility of parks as places for personal reflection and social renewal, and calling attention to some of the many human characteristics (e.g., courage, conflict, agency, ingenuity) that connect us all. Additionally, the LHIP intern will work within the Visitor Engagement, Education and the Arts Directorate, collaborating with NPS professionals, partners, and participating youth to plan, capture, and edit interviews and documentary footage associated with the park experiences and personal stories of Latinx youth. Digital stories will be shared via social media and integrated into the NP Gallery (the National Park Service digital archives collection) and Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections - Boston's Latino/a Community History.

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate will have - or be pursuing - an undergraduate relevant to studies in communications, media, journalism or photography.

Desired skills include:

Ability to capture & provide photographs & image files in high-resolution digital format, incl. RAW files & metadata with identifying information about the photographs & photographer

Familiarity with or desire to learn how to conduct & record interviews

Skill at using social media to engage audiences through mixed media & culturally appropriate content

Ability to work in partnerships, teams & independently

Experience and interest in working effectively with youth

Ability to communicate fluently in Spanish and English, orally & in writing

Experience and/or stated interest in working in parks in an urban setting

Lastly, the intern should demonstrate intercultural competence, including the ability to communicate effectively with people who have different worldviews, experiences, perspectives & patterns of communication

Housing:

Park housing is available at no cost for the intern.

About National Parks of Boston:

The National Parks of Boston is located in Boston, MA, the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The city, which encompasses 21 diverse neighborhoods, is home to more than 600,000 residents. Boston has a large and thriving Latino population (17% of the city's population). Latinos live in every neighborhood in the city with the highest populations living in the neighborhoods of Roxbury, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, East Boston, Allston/Brighton, and Hyde Park.

Today, 40% of students attending Boston Public Schools are Hispanic; the city is in constant need of multilingual teachers and Spanish-speaking teachers are highly sought in order to facilitate quality learning experiences and academic support for the city's many Hispanic (generally Latino) youth and families. Boston offers a variety of amenities, including schools, restaurants and theaters, museums, exceptional medical facilities, vibrant neighborhood business districts, apartment rentals, and a solid network of parks, community centers, and libraries.