About Me

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    The first opportunity I was given was when I worked at the Antonio J Waring Archaeological Laboratory (Waring Lab)  at the University of West Georgia during both my undergraduate and graduate careers.  My work in the lab introduced me to the field of Public History.  First I was introduced to artifact curation.  I was assigned to the Ninety-Six National Historic Site project. This project was done in partnership with the National Park Service (NPS).  The artifacts in this collection originated from a Revolutionary War site in Greenwood, SC.  I learned to use the Department of Interior’s Collection Management System (ICMS).  We were assigned to catalog and revitalize the artifacts up to NPS standards.  This project helped me to understand the importance of properly storing and cataloging artifacts.  This project exposed me to a wide variety of historic artifacts. I learned both identification and curation techniques.  Shortly after being assigned to the project, I was given a leadership role.  I was responsible for the collection and managing the team working with it.  This opportunity helped me to develop leadership skills.  I was also able to better understand the many levels of collections management.   When I became a curation assistant at the Waring Lab, I was responsible for the 96 Project and other responsibilities as they were needed around the Lab.   One of the responsibilities I am proud to have been part of was their education outreach initiatives.  I learned quite a lot about the public response to our collections and interest in our laboratory, through helping with field trips and off-site displays.  I enjoyed sharing a part of history with the public.  This experience helped me to develop my love of museum education.

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    My summer internship with the Pettigrew-White-Stamps House in Thomaston, Georgia was the second experience that shaped me as a public historian.   I helped the members of the Upson Historical Society organize and catalog an extensive collection of local artifacts.  I created a Microsoft Access database and trained the members to use it.  When I began working, I was amazed at the amount of local history they had collected and thoroughly enjoyed hearing the history of the artifacts. While I taught the volunteers how to catalog the artifacts they taught me how even items as simple as quilts can be an important part of local history.  I also learned that a museum cannot take in everything.  Sorting through their collection I learned collections can easily become unmanageable, and as a result, some of a community’s story could become lost. I am proud that I was able to help the Upson Historical Society with their collection. 

 

    Finally, the internship position I held with the Haralson County Veterans Association made a huge personal impact on me. In this position,  I interviewed and indexed the interviews of local veterans, their families, and their friends.  This internship helped me find my love of oral history.  I was proud to be able to work with the veterans and hear their experiences, some of which had never been shared.  The fact that these veterans felt comfortable enough with me to share their stories and often emotions really touched my heart.  I saw first hand how incredibly different hearing an oral history of a person who had actually experienced a battle  is from reading about it or seeing objects in a museum. 

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    All of these experiences have helped me grow as a person and a public historian. I am looking  forward to the next chapter in my life which I hope will contain even more experiences so I can continue to grow.