GOODE JOB Bayside history buff enjoying internship at Museum of Jewish Heritage

Since she can remember, Catherine Goode has always been a history fanatic. It all began because of her father's love for the subject. &#8220He introduced me to it at a young age,” she said. &#8220He loves history. I would sit on his lap and we would watch the History Channel together and he has a subscription to National Geographic.”
Alas, Goode is an ardent history enthusiast. So for the summer preceding her senior year at Bayside High School she applied to be one of 15 high school apprentices at the Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Manhattan. She wasn't accepted, but the stellar student, who will go to Harvard University this fall, re-applied for this summer and was accepted - much to her delight - for the two-month session.
&#8220Her interest in learning more made us want to hire her,” said Maureen Keren, the museum educator for the internship program. &#8220We knew she'd be a great fit. She's quite interested in world culture. She knew a lot about Jewish heritage and history. Catherine is extremely bright, extremely dedicated; she adds a lot to the group.”
&#8220I love history and one of the possible career paths for a history major would be to work at a museum,” Goode added. &#8220Being part of a diverse group gives me insight on how other people think. And if you look at things more deeply, you might discover that they're not so different after all.”
At the Museum of Jewish Heritage, Goode, a Kew Gardens resident, spent time in each department, such as education; communications; finance and administration; and operations and development. Her favorite task was working in the collections and exhibitions section because it serves as the history department of the museum. She also gave tours of the museum to young visitors and learned a great deal of Jewish culture. Although Goode is Christian, she loves learning about other religions.
&#8220I'm interested in world culture in general,” she said. &#8220It's always beneficial to learn about outside cultures. It makes it easier to work with a lot of people.”
Some of the perks from working at the museum included visiting the Eldridge Street Synagogue, the New York Transit Museum and other such local institutions in addition to going to the children's opera, Brundibar.
Goode said she wouldn't mind working at a museum while at college, but her future plans center around archeology, such as Egyptology, because &#8220I love ancient history,” she said.
Goode certainly belongs in the Ivy League, with a 97.5 average, accumulated in advanced placement classes in English, U.S. history and world history, and a 1910 SAT score out of 2400. In fact, she finished 8th out of 621 students in her graduating class at Bayside.
But yet, there is even more to Goode than a zeal for history and an impressive resum as a student. She's given her free time as a camp counselor to the Beacon Program at P.S. 149, worked at York College doing clerical work, and is an aspiring photographer, with a specific passion for portrait and nature shots who does her own printing in a dark room. She plans on joining the Grey Area, a photography club, at Harvard. Goode is also an aspiring writer and poet.