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Breaking into any work field is always hard and requires a combination of education, experience and networking skills.
The museum industry is no different.
There are few paid internships. The result? Many unpaid internships land in the hands of students who can afford to not be paid.
Seeing the inequity in the industry, several University of Texas Rio Grande Valley faculty took it upon themselves to create the Puentes Museum Internship and Fellowship program in 2023, which funds university students opportunities to get much needed museum experience.
After two years of working on the program, 20 UTRGV students found out in late March they were set to be part of the first cohort of the program.
A week later the federally funded grant was terminated, leaving students devastated and scrambling to find ways to fund their internships.
The internship funding came from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), a federal agency that provides grants to libraries and museums across the country. The agency was awarded $266 million in grants and research funding last year toward helping staff, funding maintenance and creating new programs.
The IMLS was part of cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — led by billionaire Elon Musk. In early April, organizations such as the one at UTRGV were notified of their grants being terminated.
Stephanie Álvarez, a principal investigator for the program and professor of Mexican-American Studies, said the program was awarded close to $750,000 from the IMLS.
“We all felt devastated,” Álvarez said. “Because students don’t have this opportunity … We were just stunned because we put a lot of effort into it but also because all of these students expecting to go have these internships and that possibly doesn’t exist anymore unless we find at least $60,000.”
Álvarez said the grant was supposed to go through all the way to October 2026 with the hopes of reapplying and continuing to provide opportunities to students. She added that the program was open to all majors since there is a wide variety of jobs within museums beyond what people might think.
The grant would give students funds for housing, transportation and for their work during their internship — a rarity in the museum industry.
Álvarez said she is already experiencing the effects of President Donald Trump’s executive orders with another grant to document the histories of migrant farmworker mothers.
However, this one felt different since it was directly impacting the program’s students.
“This isn’t just about 20 students being able to do their internship. It’s about a pipeline of future researchers, art historians, archivists, curators,” she said. “It’s the future of our museums and archives … and it’s going to leave a huge gap.
“Our students have a unique perspective and really make them outstanding candidates for work in these environments but without these paid internships, it’s hard to even get your foot in the door.”
Most students were going to intern at various locations in the Valley, from The Museum of South Texas History (MOST) in Edinburg to The Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame and Museum in San Benito to the ENTRE Film Center and Archive in Harlingen to the Border Studies Archive and Center for Latin American Arts at UTRGV.
Four students were set to intern at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Gabriela Maria Mendoza is one of the four and described the moment for students when they all gathered together after learning about the funding termination.
“It was very emotional,” Mendoza said. “We addressed it and went around the circle and some of us spoke … We just said how horrible we thought about it but also our frustration and definitely anger going on … but it was really unifying.”
Studying philosophy and art history, she said her background and getting museum experience would translate into a future of focusing on community work through the arts and the humanities.
“It’s always been a huge thing, not just in the Valley but like Mexican-American communities, we need that education and need more resources that allow people to pursue further in a meaningful way.”
Joseph Esparza, a history graduate student, was set to intern at MOST and said he was excited to gain valuable experience this summer.
Getting the news of the termination while out with his friends watching a movie, Esparza said it entirely killed his night. Following the news, Esparza and his fellow students all met up to discuss what happened and the plan going forward.
“It was almost like a funeral walking into (the meeting). I feel like everyone would have been there smiling, getting to know each other but … you can tell by the emotions on their faces, they were just about ready to call it quits … I feel like this is just another fight that we’ve been fighting the past 100 years as Mexican Americans.”
After letting out the frustration, the students then made a plan of action. The students agreed to reach out to locally elected officials, UTRGV officials and anyone that could possibly help raise funds for the internship opportunities.
“Shifts in federal funding priorities have resulted in the termination of several grants, which included funding for faculty and students,” Patrick Gonzales, vice president of university marketing and communications for UTRGV, said in a statement. “While some of these terminations included an option to appeal—which we are actively pursuing—others did not offer an appeals process.
“One such grant, awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), was terminated on April 15, 2025. The appeal is due by May 12, 2025. The Division of Research is currently preparing the required documentation for submission.”