Alcatraz Night Tour Intern
Golden Gate National Parks, Alcatraz Island
Part Time, Spring Semester 2014 (with potential for Summer Extension)
Available only to students currently enrolled at SFSU and CCSF
Overview
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is a destination for both locals and international
visitors with its sweeping vistas, immense biological diversity, and unique cultural resources. With over
15 million visitors annually and over 80,000 acres of land, the GGNRA is the largest urban national park
in the country. The Alcatraz Night Tour is in its 15th year, and provides interpretive programs at night
about Alcatraz for over 200,000 people a year.
The mission of the GGNRA’s interpretive and education programs is to share our national parks with an
increasingly diverse America and to build a sense of ownership, civic engagement in the care of our
parks, communities and environment.
Are you passionate about public speaking, customer service, and creating future stewards of Alcatraz?
Join our dynamic team and help us build a strong community of international visitors through
programming and behind the scenes access!
Intern Position
We are looking for a Historical Interpretive Intern who is excited to work with a broad range of
audiences from all over the world through a variety of program research and development, public
speaking, and behind the scenes access.
With your help, the Alcatraz Night Tour can increase the number of positive intellectual and emotional
connections made between the Alcatraz Night Tour visitors and Alcatraz Island.
Working as part of a team, the intern will be provided with a supportive research based internship that
will lead to the development of a program given in behind the scenes areas on Alcatraz. This involves
learning to conduct historical research, develop interpretive programs, behind the scenes safety, and
public speaking. The intern’s primary responsibilities will be to provide behind the scenes access to areas
on the island that have immense historical value, but are currently closed during the Night Tour. The
intern will be trained in how to develop an informal interpretive program and will deliver this program in
the desired behind the scenes areas.
Description of Duties
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Public Speaking
o Conduct historical research to develop and present original programming about Alcatraz’s
behind the scenes areas such as the kitchen, hospital, morgue, chapel, and gun gallery
o Greet visitors arriving on Alcatraz with dock announcements
o Provide special tours during the day when time permits
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Other Duties
o Educate and enlighten visitors by answering questions
o Perform resource protection
o Participate in trainings and education opportunities provided by the National Park Service
and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Benefits
 Gain professional development in a team setting at a highly respected non-profit organization that
has a model partnership between 3 agencies: National Park Service, Presidio Trust, and the Bridge
District
 Develop public speaking skills
 Learn to conduct historical research using resources on site and at the National Archives and
Records Administration
 Develop customer service skills
 Great opportunity to work with staff and volunteers from a diverse background that share a
common interest in preserving the natural and cultural history of Alcatraz Island while engaging
visitors to become future park stewards
 Opportunity for personal/professional development days to pursue an interest, including training
and education in various departments within the Park Service and Parks Conservancy.
 Fifty Dollar ($50.00) per day stipend available, plus academic credit.
Desired Qualifications
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Enthusiasm for working with a large number of visitors from all over the world
Desire to learn how to conduct historical research and deliver original programming
Customer service skills
Energetic and self-motivated
Good communication skills, respect for others
Knowledge of basic Microsoft Office
Ability to get to Pier 33 in San Francisco
Bi-lingual skills a plus
Ability for work days to be between Thursday – Monday
Physical Requirements and Work Environment
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Intern will work both indoors and outdoors. Weather conditions vary from day to day
Intern must be comfortable sitting, standing, and walking in public settings frequently
This is a physically strenuous job
Ability to climb steep hills to the top of Alcatraz Island
Terms
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Desired Start Date: January 2014
2 – 3 days per week, January through May. Summer (full time) extension possible. Schedule will
include some nights and weekends.
Available only to students currently enrolled in SF State and City College of San Francisco
To apply for this position, please send a resume and a thoughtful cover letter to
AcademicIntern@parksconservancy.org. Please indicate the position title in your email subject line. In
the letter, please indicate your preference if applying to more than one internship. No phone calls
please.
The Parks Conservancy and National Park Service are committed to diversity in the workplace.
Minorities and people of color are encouraged to apply.