Guest Blog: Gandi Bolor-Erdene ’28
During my J-Term Arts & Museums Winternship at the Signet Society, I had the opportunity to work with both historical archives and contemporary digital platforms, an experience that completely reshaped how I view Harvard’s artistic and institutional legacy. This internship allowed me to engage deeply with the Signet’s past while also contributing to projects that will shape its future.
One of my responsibilities was archival work with the Signet’s historical documents, many of which date back to the 1800 and 1900s. I worked on organizing and digitizing materials related to the Annual Dinner, one of the Signet’s most important traditions, as well as documenting honorary members and converting handwritten honorary lists into digital records. This process required careful attention to detail and respect for the historical significance of each document. As part of this project, I visited the Harvard University Archives and used Hollis special requests for the first time. Although I had been a Harvard student for some time, this experience introduced me to academic and archival resources I had never known existed.
Working with these materials gave me a new appreciation for the long-lasting legacy of both the Signet and Harvard as a whole. Reading correspondence from the early 1900s, especially letters describing how the Signet and Harvard navigated difficult historical moments together, was particularly meaningful. Seeing how generations before me cared deeply about art, literature, and community made me feel connected to a much larger story.
In addition to archival work, I contributed to a more forward-looking project: building an alumni directory on the Signet’s website to make mentorship opportunities more accessible for current undergraduate members. The goal of this project was to centralize alumni mentorship data and categorize it by professional fields as well as arts and literary interests. This involved researching ways to integrate Squarespace with Salesforce so that alumni updates could be reflected live, and creating a members-only site limited to Signet affiliates.
Before this internship, I had no experience using platforms like Squarespace or Salesforce, so there was a steep learning curve. Implementing the directory came with many technical and logistical challenges, but it was incredibly rewarding to gain hands-on experience with these tools. This experience helped me better understand how digital infrastructure can support artistic and alumni communities over time.
What surprised me most about this experience was how much it changed my perception of myself and my future goals. While I have always been interested in the arts, I never seriously considered getting involved in artistic organizations at Harvard. This internship exposed me to a side of campus that I might have otherwise missed and encouraged me to see the arts not just as an interest, but as a meaningful part of my academic and personal life. As a result, I am now considering joining arts & literary communities on campus and pursuing a secondary concentration in Art, Film, and Visual Studies (AFVS).
Above all, this internship was a period of discovery, of Harvard’s hidden resources, of the Signet’s history, and of my own interests. I am incredibly grateful for the guidance and support of Liz and Ann Marie, who were truly the best advisors I could have asked for. Their mentorship made this experience both intellectually engaging and personally impactful. I strongly encourage students to apply for a J-Term internship at the Signet next year. It is a great opportunity to learn, reflect, and grow in ways you might not expect.
