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The Cleveland History Center: Meet Isis Weems '18

When you walk into the Cleveland History Center it is an immediate step back in time showcasing our beloved favorite city. You are immediately drawn to the very first DeLorean off the assembly line made famous in the movie “Back to the Future”. It is part of the brand new “Cleveland Starts Here” permanent exhibit at the museum. On your immediate right, you will see a huge neon Chief Wahoo that stood on the roof of old Cleveland Municipal Stadium serves as your greeter to the History Center. As you wind through the exquisite Bingham-Hanna and Hay-McKinney mansions, you’ll see cars and planes from every era in the Crawford Auto Aviation Museum, Euclid Beach Park’s Grand Carousel, trendy outfits from decades gone-by in the Chisolm Halle Costume Wing and more. It really is a true to life, fascinating archive of our region.

Each Thursday, senior Isis Weems makes her home in this treasure trove of displays and artifacts for her job in our Corporate Work Study Program. And as you might imagine, with so many different facets to the museum, no day is the same. “Isis is a great girl who has done a little bit of everything. She’s done a great job and is very friendly to everyone she has met,” said Jackie Nachman, Sales Manager. “Isis is very studious. She always gets what needs to be done, finished. I never have to worry about keeping her on task. She doesn’t need a lot of guidance, which is nice.”

Like we mentioned, each day is unique and can range from simple filing and writing acknowledgements to setting up for the many events at the mansions, researching other venues to see what they do similarly or can do even better, stuffing gift baskets, site visits and more. There is never a dull moment on East Boulevard, “I like working with Jackie. She gives me the work and trusts me. I like to be independent and accomplish my work while doing it well,” said Isis.

Outside of work, she keeps herself busy as a member of the Lions Cheerleading and Step 2 squads, and is looking at colleges in Ohio and across the country to study pre-med. Isis knows her education at Saint Martin has her ready for the next step, “Saint Martin is a college prep school so you know it’s going to be hard because they are getting us ready for college, but once you graduate you’ll be relieved because you know college will be easier to handle. I like it a lot.”

The History Center at the Western Reserve Historical Society is one of over 130 Cleveland area businesses and partners that we are so proud to collaborate with and provide meaningful opportunities for our students like Isis. “Saint Martin kids are always ready and willing to work.” said Nachman. We are always looking to add more Corporate Work Study Program partners to help continue changing urban education in Cleveland. You can learn more about how to get engaged with our unique CWSP here.