Taking a chance this summer has paid off for CedarBridge student Jorae Talbot, whose enthusiasm at the Bermuda National Trust has been channelled into a new range of museum displays highlighting Bermuda’s heritage.

“It’s always good to know where you come from — your history is important, and you can’t know who you are if you don’t know where you’re from,” Jorae told The Royal Gazette.

“It’s also nice to know how far Bermuda has come.”

The 17-year-old said she was unsure where the Government internship programme would take her when she signed up for it.

“The way I saw it, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do — the programme could put me anywhere and I’d see if I liked it,” she said.

Jorae started out helping museums director Peter Frith to research the history of the SS Pollockshields, a war supply ship that was driven onto the reefs off Elbow Beach in 1915, resulting in a dramatic rescue.

“I’d always had an interest in social studies and history, but it wasn’t until I worked with the Trust that I thought I could actually do this, perhaps as a history teacher,” she said.

The internship, which ran from July 1 to August 29, also included work at the Trust’s museum in St George’s, the Globe Hotel, where Jorae worked the register at the gift shop and greeted visitors.

Education director Cindy Corday said she’d found Jorae “amazing” to work with, adding: “She was instrumental in assisting me with a project for our museum signage.”

The room guides for the Trust’s 18th century gem, Verdmont House, required extensive research and design.

“It’s an ancient house,” Jorae said.

“The last resident before the Trust took it over had no plumbing put in, no electricity, and still pumped water from a well.”

Intrigued by the work and keen to interact with visitors, Jorae has stayed on as a volunteer for the Trust — and recommends that others give it a try.

Internship forms are available at the Government Administration Building on Parliament Street, she said, and the Bermuda National Trust welcomes interested young people.

“The Trust is always looking for new volunteers,” she said. “Their main office is at Waterville in Paget — just go there and ask.”