Mark Small

Intern with the conservation team

I have always been interested in historic buildings and churches, but only discovered a strong academic interest for conservation and heritage whilst studying for my Masters in Urban History in 2009-10 at the University of Leicester.

It was through a fortuitous personal connection and a lot of hard work that I was offered an internship for the conservation team.

Whilst I have only been with the CCT for a short length of time, I’ve learnt a huge amount:

• How to do real life work in a real life office (rather than essays in a student work-room)
• Theoretical issues, like Assessments of Significance, and how they’re dealt with in practice
• Site visits and physical conservation issues
• Being part of a website building team

I’ve also learnt how to do a credible mimic of Simon Cowell in front of the whole staff at the Christmas party!

The internship has already given me the opportunity to network and attend courses that I wouldn’t have had access to. I have gained a huge amount of new experiences that will come in very handy when interviewers ask me what I think I can bring to their organisation.