The National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE)’s Internship Program is a partnership with the National Park Service and other Federal agencies with cultural resource protection and public land management responsibilities. The purpose is to accomplish needed and important work on federally protected lands while providing program participants with professional experience in their chosen fields. Interns work under the guidance of agency staff who are subject area experts to carry out the mission of the park.

To be eligible, applicants must be between 18 and 30 years old (or 35 if a veteran) when starting the internship, a post-secondary student (certificate program, 2-year, 4-year, or graduate level), or a recent graduate (within the past 12 months at the time of application), and a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.  

Kalaupapa National Historical Park, once a Hansen’s Disease settlement since 1866, was established in 1980 to “preserve and interpret the Kalaupapa settlement for the education and inspiration of present and future generations; to provide a well-maintained community in which the Kalaupapa leprosy patients are guaranteed that they may remain at Kalaupapa as long as they wish…to research, preserve and maintain the present character of the community and important historic structures, traditional Hawaiian sites, cultural values, and natural features; and to provide for limited visitation by the general public.” Kalaupapa is on the remote Molokai peninsula, surrounded by ocean and mountain cliffs. Access is via a small 9-passenger plane or a 3.25-mile trail with 26 switchbacks. Daytime temperatures are usually in the lower 80s; summers are hot with ocean breezes and occasional light rain.

The successful candidate will conduct condition assessments and take photographs of historic structures, mainly grave sites in cemeteries. The position requires fieldwork and office work, with data entry into the Cultural Resources Inventory System (CRIS) database. The intern will primarily assist the park with a backlog of FY25 assessments, and will work toward completing FY26 assessments.

Duties include both field work and office work:

Field work: working from a list, locate and evaluate the condition of historic structures, grave markers, and buildings; using a tablet, make notes on the condition, and take photographs to document the condition.

Office work: input data from the field into the CRIS database and update park records; label and upload photos.

The intern will need to budget their time between field and office to complete assessments for all structures in the inventory.

A background security investigation may be required before the start date. All NCPE internships accrue 4 hours of Paid Time Off (PTO) for every 80 hours worked.

Qualified NCPE interns who complete their internships may count their position towards earning a Public Land Corps (PLC) Non-Competitive Hiring Authority certificate.  Once earned, the PLC certificate can be used to apply for eligible Federal permanent, temporary, or term positions. Visit https://preservenet.org/ncpe-internships/ for details about this benefit. Successful completion of the internship does not guarantee Federal employment.