A Curiosity About the Arts Goes a Long Way

Academic rigor, guest speakers and supportive atmosphere inspired me to continue onward to graduate school.

Major: art history, politics minor

Study Abroad: University of St. Andrews, U.K.

Internships: Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy; Art & Auction Haus Döbritz, Frankfurt, Germany; Curatorial Intern, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum

Graduate School: Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University, New York

I value the arts as a means of self-expression and observing the world, and I have sought a career path whereby I can promote an enriching engagement for others’ curiosity as well as my own.

Whether or not you choose it as your major, studying art history at Mount Holyoke is an opportunity to expand your own visual and material database through the classroom and campus collections in a meaningful, collaborative way by recognizing connections within and among cultures, questioning social perceptions throughout time, and finding personal enjoyment in these developments.

During my time at Mount Holyoke, the acumen and passion of the art history professors encouraged my burgeoning interest in the field. I delved into the course offerings, especially those pertaining to ancient Mediterranean art. Alongside my academic work, I pursued my professional interests in museums and arts outreach as the education fellow and a curatorial researcher at the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum. I handled public relations with the former student group the Society of Art Goddesses, got to know my peers as department student liaison and held summertime positions at arts institutions in the U.S. and abroad.

The academic rigor, a variety of guest speakers and the supportive atmosphere inspired me to continue onward to graduate school. I was grateful to receive funding support from the department, which also helped to sponsor an independent study during a January term tour of Northern India.

At Columbia University, I am writing my M.A. thesis on the architecture of Hadrian’s Villa, where I have spent the summers excavating and recording finds on-site through the Advanced Program of Art History and Archaeology. Having worked at an arts foundation and a museum in the city, I am now a scholar docent at the Onassis Cultural Center New York for the exhibition “Gods and Mortals at Olympus: Ancient Dion, City of Zeus.” I look forward to what happens next!