Internships
Fallingwater offers summer internship opportunities for college and graduate students interested in careers related to the site’s many departments.
Each year, interns complete hands-on projects relevant to their area of specialization while working closely with supervisors, colleagues and volunteers in their host department. Fallingwater strongly encourages applications from students who are members of groups underrepresented in careers related to its mission.
Meet the 2025 Fallingwater Interns
Bisrat Engida
Addis Ababa University
2025 ICOMOS/Modernism Week Preservation Intern
I arrived at Fallingwater as a preservation intern and leave as a more well-rounded World Heritage professional. This magnificent place – and the dedicated team caring for it – will always be a part of me.
Bisrat holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Addis Ababa University. Additionally, he studied world heritage at Brandenburg University and cultural heritage at Deakin University, earning two Masters of Art degrees. Bisrat is also an associate member of ICOMOS Australia, which focuses on cultural heritage conservation.
Erin Cantu
Iowa State University
2025 Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation Landscape Intern
“Before coming to Fallingwater, I remember Frank Lloyd Wright being a topic of conversation in my landscape architecture courses. His fearlessness and innovative approach to design inspires me to have ambitious ideas, and to “go for it” despite my anxieties and the opinions others may have. I am incredibly grateful to have the privilege of working here, and I hope I can leave a lasting positive impact on such a widely celebrated site that is Fallingwater!”
Erin is one of the 2025 Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation Landscape Interns. She will be a senior at Iowa State University this upcoming academic year in pursuit of an undergraduate degree in landscape architecture.
Hannah Zinn
York College of PA
2025 Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation Landscape Intern
“Getting the opportunity to work at Fallingwater has been lifechanging. From learning and practicing natural landscape design to developing a sense of the plant palette of such a unique property to gaining new skills in horticultural maintenance, I feel that I have grown tremendously as not only a professional, but also as a person.”
Hannah is a recent graduate of York College of Pennsylvania where she earned a B.S. in environmental horticulture. She will be returning this upcoming academic year in pursuit of a master’s degree.
Jacob Dixon
Goshen College
2025 Land Stewardship – WPC Intern
“I interpret Fallingwater as a representation of the sentiment that we exist harmoniously with nature, which embodies a loving bond between nature and the creatures that walk within it. Therefore, our job is to mirror nature’s benevolence and steward the land in a way that sustains coexistence between humans and the earth.”
Jacob is a rising senior at Goshen College where he is pursuing a degree in art with a minor in sustainability.
May Higginbotham
University of Pittsburgh
2025 Judy Cheteyan Collections Intern
“Spending my summer working with the collections at Fallingwater has been a beautiful way to connect my passions for art history, collecting practices and local history. Through the stories held within the materials in the collection, I am gaining a richer understanding of and perspective on Fallingwater.”
May is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College with concentrations in art history and anthropology. She is now pursuing a master’s degree in library and informational science at the University of Pittsburgh.
Maya Day
Rutgers University
2025 Robert and Harriet Kirkpatrick Education Intern
“My dream is to go into collections and archives but I love museums as a whole — even as a kid I would pretend to be sick and skip school to go to the MET or Princeton Art Museum. Now being grown up, I have never felt more fulfilled as I do now — being able to tour and explain the objects within the home, decades or centuries old from almost every continent. I am more than happy to be formally trained to give tours in such a beautiful and important institution like Fallingwater! I hope to continue my work with museums into adulthood.”
Maya will be a junior at Rutgers University this upcoming academic year and is pursuing an undergraduate degree in art history with minors in archaeology and history.
Taney Basinger
Edinboro University
2025 Fawcett Digital Multimedia Intern
“This summer has been full of exploration, creativity, practical experiences, and new friendships. Walking the grounds of Fallingwater with a camera in my hand never failed to spark new ideas and inspire me as an artist. Capturing the sights, the stories, and the wonderful people here was truly an honor.”
Taney will be a senior at Edinboro University this upcoming school year where she is concentrating in both animation and digital film/photography. She is also pursuing a minor in metalworking.
Learn About Fallingwater Internships
ICOMOS/Modernism Week Preservation Internship
Preservation Interns work directly with Fallingwater’s preservation, collections and maintenance departments as well as visiting consultants and vendors on various projects that seek to deepen the understanding of Fallingwater’s operation as a modern house museum and site on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Supported by Modernism Week, this internship is open to international students participating in the ICOMOS-USA International Exchange Program.
Applications are closed for this internshipJudy Cheteyan Collections Internship
Collections interns select one or more collections from the archives as a focused summer project. Duties will include housing, organizing, and preparing a finding aid according to national standards for DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard) and EAD (Encoded Archival Description).
Applications are closed for this internshipLand Stewardship – WPC Internship
Applications are closed for this internshipFawcett Digital Multimedia Internship
Communications interns work to support the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s communications department in the area of digital communications for Fallingwater’s website, social media channels and other digital platforms.
Applications are closed for this internshipKatherine Mabis McKenna Foundation Landscape Internship
Landscape interns are exposed to a variety of native species of plant life and natural landscape situations on the 5,100-acre Bear Run Nature Reserve, in which Fallingwater is located. In addition, interns gain hands-on learning by designing project schemes and implementing improvements to Fallingwater’s woodland garden landscape.
Applications are closed for this internshipRobert and Harriet Kirkpatrick Education Internship
Education interns work directly with the public tour staff to interpret Fallingwater through guided tours and lectures as well as assist education supervisors with on-site residency programs focused on high school, college and adult learners, and educational workshops for students in grades 3-12.
Applications are closed for this internship