Trevor Hix ’19 Rotary Jail Museum – I’m Trevor Hix and I will be a senior this coming fall at Wabash College. My summer internship has been working with the Montgomery County Cultural Foundation at the Rotary Jail Museum. Built in 1881 and starting operations in 1882, the Rotary Jail of Crawfordsville is one of the hidden treasures most people don’t even know about. I had only heard of it through passing before my internship. With the summer approaching and time running out, I went to Roland Morin who helped place me at the Jail. The day-to-day things I do while at the jail are things like giving tours and working on escape rooms; that’s right, escape rooms. The main reasoning behind my internship is to design escape rooms for the Rotary Jail. The beginning of escape rooms being run out of the jail is multipurpose. One of the reasons for the escape rooms is to help bring money into the organization. Being a non-profit organization, sometimes it can be hard to pull in a lot of money at one time. Another purpose is to help reach out to the community. Entertainment can be hard to find, no matter the city you’re in. Some of the complaints I have heard from local community members is that there is never enough to do and they have to travel to places like Indianapolis, Terre Haute, or Lafayette for a fun evening. The escape rooms will give these community members the opportunity to have a fun evening without all the hassle of a drive. Finally, the escape rooms have benefited me almost more than anything. Being a Political Science major and Rhetoric, Psychology double minor, design has never really been a part of my education. It was nerve-racking just thinking about stepping into a field of work that I only had a passing-by knowledge on. But thanks to the Wabash College Liberal Arts education system, I have been able to utilize my critical thinking skills to rise to the challenge. Not only have the escape rooms gone well throughout this summer, but the Rotary Jail has also given me the opportunity to reach out to the community. At least once a month we do a free movie night that allows members from the community come to the Jail and have a nice relaxing evening. Also throughout the summer, we have held two Art Camps that let kids come in afternoons for a week and do fun arts and crafts. This internship has also given me an opportunity to outreach to the Wabash community even stronger. This coming October, the MCCF while be hosting a Haunted Jail that will be run in the Rotary Jail. My boss, Brittney Combs, has developed the idea to have the Haunted Jail become a scare competition between Wabash College and the school down south. This opportunity will help the Wabash Brotherhood give back to the community. Internships are one of the most essential you can do during your time at college; gaining experience, taking a chance in a field you may not know a lot about, and extending your network. No matter your previous experience, Wabash prepares you for anything. WAF.