STUdent Dexter Lathangue Interns with Provincial Archives

Spending his internship surrounded by historical documents is a dream come true for fourth-year Great Books and History student Dexter Lathangue. 

“In a very real sense, I get to work in history; something I’ve studied on my own and in school my whole life!” 

Originally from Peterborough, Ontario, Lathangue has been completing an internship through the Office of Experiential and Community Based Learning with the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, appraising the monetary value of documents, photos and other items donated to the Archives. 

“Every kid who grows up loving history and then going on to study history should consider archival work,” he said. “It’s a really rewarding experience to work in a field directly pertaining to what you’re studying, and if you get a head start on that before you graduate you really do yourself a favour.” 

Sifting through boxes of unorganized information with no clear theme or pattern often means Lathangue must create a system to organize donated materials before he can assess the value. He credits the critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills he developed through STU’s Great Books and History programs with helping him be more effective in that work. 

“I get to put my hands on a lot of really interesting, old stuff,” Lathangue said. 

One of his previous projects for his internship was to catalogue the correspondence of a New Brunswick mayor during the 1960s, including letters to mayors in cities across the East Coast and to former Prime Minister of Canada John Diefenbaker. Lathangue said sifting through those documents gave him a great sense of what politics in the province was like during that time. 

“Reading through letters and notebooks from decades ago provides a really neat opportunity for gaining new perspectives.” 

He also emphasized the writing skills he developed at STU which had a significant impact on his preparedness for doing an internship. 

“Everything becomes easier when you can write clearly and effectively. It helps your communication, organization, and your thinking itself.” 

Lathangue plans to graduate from St. Thomas this spring with an honours in Great Books and a major in History. Afterwards, he hopes to complete a master’s degree in a more focused area of study, potentially archival science. He said his experience during his internship has given him insight into a potential career path where he’ll get to work in the fields he’s studied at STU. 

“I’d tell any students considering applying for an internship to just go for it and seek out opportunities that interest them.” 

Learn more about STU’s Internship Program at STU.ca/internships.  

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This experiential learning opportunity was made possible thanks to St. Thomas University's partnership with the FutureNB initiative.