What are you up to these days?
I graduated in 2019 with a Master of Arts in Public History from UIS. I wrote my thesis on Abraham Lincoln (who else?) and his travels on the 8th Judicial Circuit. For the past 3 or so years, though, I've lived in my home state of Minnesota. I am a Program Supervisor for the Minnesota Historical Society at the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post, which is located on the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe reservation near Onamia, MN. In past positions with the Minnesota Historical Society, I've served as an Interpreter at both the Minnesota History Center and the Minnesota State Capitol. While at UIS I worked at Lincoln Home National Historic Site as a Park Guide (this job really got me started down the path of historical interpretation specifically--previous to this, I didn't even know historic interpretation could be a job, let alone a career!).
Tell us more about your job
As Program Supervisor at Mille Lacs, my primary duties include managing the day-to-day operations of the museum and its interpretive programming, working with field trips, special groups and events, and hiring and training interpretive staff. Something I am currently focusing on in the off season is growing digital access to our programming, especially when it comes to social media. I'm also redoing a couple of our school lesson plans to make them more digitally focused for students.
How did your UIS experience help you get to where you are?
My UIS experience prepared me excellently for what I am currently doing by giving me a well-rounded knowledge of the current trends in the literature about the field of public history, as well as giving me strategies for understanding the relationship between public audiences and museums, which directly helps me in my current work as someone who writes and directs public-facing interpretive programming. My professors were all very passionate and capable instructors who ignited the passion in me for a career I didn't really know was possible before I started graduate school at UIS.
What advice to you have for anyone considering an MA in History from UIS?
To prospective students, I would say that if you like small, intimate class settings, a welcoming atmosphere, faculty who know their stuff and care about their students, and abundant opportunities to dip your toes into all sorts of history-focused professional and academic work, you'll find all that and more at UIS. I loved my time there as a student, and I know you will too.