Camden Historical Society Exec Bullies Intern, Intern Pushes Back

Asian immigrant woman fought back when the boss at her paid internship tried to get her to work without pay. Helen, who asked that her true identity remain anonymous, worked for the Camden Historical Society while attending Rowan University. When the executive director, Jack O’Byrne, threatened to withhold payment for the hours worked unless she agreed to finish the work on her own time, Helen and her friend pushed back.

Nhu Tran, a friend of Helen’s, took to social media in defense of her friend. Her Facebook and Twitter posts brought attention to the matter.

In an interview with Owners Magazine, Helen explains that she took a paid internship position with the Camden Historical Society in the fall of 2020. She took the position for on-the-job experience and extra funds.

The Historical Society hired Helen to work underneath someone to develop a website and deploy an open-source software platform. Shortly after they brought her onboard, things quickly changed.

“I was informed that I was supposed to work with the person who interviewed me to launch a website,” Helen says. “We started and somehow, two weeks later, the person who worked with me left. I was left alone without notice.

“Jack, the person who hired me, demanded right away that I had to launch the website before December 31^st. He didn’t ask about my experience or background or anything.”

With Helen’s co-worker gone, her boss expected her to do the work of two people. Still, they only allowed her to work 12 hours per week with no guidance or supervision.

“The first thing I noticed was the lack of support. The person who hired me never emailed me. He never showed up to meetings. In fact, I only met him once during the first meeting.”

When Helen submitted her hours toward the end of her internship, O’Byrne finally responded to an email. However, it was not the response Helen was hoping to hear. After a discrepancy about the hours worked, O’Byrne said that he had mailed a check for the hours that Helen worked but would issue a stop-payment unless Helen determined how she would provide the work to his satisfaction.

“At the time I was really scared of him. I don’t know how a person could react like this and how unprofessional to even say things like that. You know? To threaten to not pay someone when they worked during a pandemic is very unprofessional. How cruel is that?”

O’Byrne’s email could have intimidated her into forced compliance. Instead, Helen fought back. Helen sent an email to both Jack and another superior, Josh, defending herself and laying out the internship’s unfair conditions.

Helen cited that the job duties were different from the job offer, that they promised her hands-on experience with a supportive team, that O’Byrne had missed demonstrations of the project, and that it was wrong to coerce someone to work unpaid hours by withholding a paycheck.

While O’Byrne didn’t respond, Josh wrote back to Helen.

Nhu Tran posted screenshots of the email exchange between Helen and her superiors. This was Josh’s response:

“Jack’s previous emails escalated pretty quickly, and the tone was far from ideal, causing confusion and misunderstanding for both of us. I am writing to apologize for those previous emails, and to let you know that I will be the primary contact about this project form now on, including about hours/payment. Jack has removed the hold on the check, so it can be cashed. (Let me know if you do not receive it or you have issues cashing it.)

I am sorry for putting you in this situation during the end of the school year/holiday season, which probably added some unwanted stress.

In the points in your last email, I realized the extent of the work you have been doing by yourself, without much input from me or others from the Historical Society. Moving forward, I want to make sure I am providing you with the information you need, and I will make sure that my co-workers at the Historical Society will be aware of your work updates/ provide some input as we begin to publish the site.”

TL;DR it paid off. The Camden Historical Society paid the money owed to Helen.

“I knew that he was 100% wrong. I’ve been through this so many times and I have just let it go. And the only feeling I’ve had was regret. I know it’s really hard to stand up for yourself against someone who’s treated you badly, but you have to believe in yourself and do it.”

Helen is appreciative of the support she received from Nhu. “I’m blessed that I have a lot of support from my friend. I reached out to a lot of people who were too scared to get involved. She told me that I need to stand up for myself. I chose to do it, and everything blew up.”

What’s next for Helen? She recently took a position working for Penji. “I’m so excited to work with them. I’m going to continue developing my career, becoming a strong woman who stands up for her rights.”