Alumni profiles
Emma Bryan (MA 2019)
1) Please give us a brief life/career update: what have you been up to since graduation?
After graduation, I got married in June and started my full time job at the Filson Historical Society as the Front Desk Attendant in July. I work on the Education and Development team assisting with membership, programming, and marketing!
2) What aspects of your training in History at UofL have you found to be the most valuable as you work to achieve your life goals?
I learned so much in graduate school - from the course work, from my professors and mentors, from my cohort, and I learned a lot about myself as well! I did a lot of group projects in my classes, and I think I learned the most from those. It is super important to learn how to work in a team toward a common goal, and those experiences will really benefit you as you enter a workplace environment.
3) What’s your most memorable moment or experience from your time at UofL?
While I hold all my memories of graduate school very dear, the most memorable moments would have to be working in the office with Sarah, Chad, Chris, and Dr. Beattie.
4) What advice would you give to current History MA students at UofL?
Network, network, network! Whether that is through the department, internships, conferences, or meet-ups (like Drinking About Museums - look it up), definitely put yourself out there and meet people in the field. They will help you learn about, prepare for, and eventually land a job!
Joanna Federico (MA 2017)
4) What advice would you give to current History MA students at UofL?
Hannah O'Daniel McCallon (MA 2017)
1) Please give us a brief life/career update: what have you been up to since graduation?
Since graduating in December 2017, I moved to Chicago, IL. I have worked in temporary archives and digital collections positions at the Newberry, Northwestern University Libraries, Pritzker Military Museum and Library, Rotary International, and Theodore Roosevelt Center Digital Library. I will complete a MLIS with specializations in archives and digital content management through Wayne State University in 2020.
2) What aspects of your training in History at UofL have you found to be the most valuable as you work to achieve your life goals?
Clear, concise writing
Patience and diligence in research
Flexibility and empathy in working with community partners and the general public
3) What’s your most memorable moment or experience from your time at UofL?
Playing with all of the History Department dogs!
4) What advice would you give to current History MA students at UofL?
Sleep more. Recognize that you can only do so much each day. Be aware of what you need to be healthy and prioritize those needs. Set boundaries.
Sarah McCoy (MA 2019)
1) Please give us a brief life/career update: what have you been up to since graduation?
While in the MA program, 2017-2019, I interned at the Museum of the American Printing House for the Blind and the Frazier History Museum in Louisville. In the summer of 2018, I also interned at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. In my schooling and internships, I focused mostly on collections and museum education, with the goal of working in a museum, however I was trained in many aspects of public history and was open to working anywhere within the wide field that it is. After graduating in May 2019, I was offered a job at the University of Georgia in the Special Collections Libraries as the Oral History Coordinator. Here, I preserve and archive all incoming oral histories, I coordinate and advise oral history projects, and I supervise our Oral History Research Assistants and interns. And I am currently the point person for a new oral history project, Latinos in Georgia, which will document the stories of American Latinos in Georgia, first starting with political and social activists. While this isn't the career path I had initially imagined for myself, I am happily doing the critical work of a public historian.
2) What aspects of your training in History at UofL have you found to be the most valuable as you work to achieve your life goals?
At UofL, my MA major was Public History. And while I created online and physical exhibits, and conducted and indexed oral histories, all of which helped me get the job that I am currently in, the most valuable aspect of my training was understanding how public history can be used to enact change. History as we see it today, in museums, textbooks, and media, has focused on a certain type of person with a certain history. However, that is changing, especially with public history as we are making the history of the historically excluded available, and we are working in the community to show that we understand that this history matters. Because of this, I find value in my work, and I am passionate about creating and encouraging a more inclusive and accurate history.
3) What’s your most memorable moment or experience from your time at UofL?
What I find the most memorable about my time at UofL was the friendships I made while in the MA program. My very first semester of graduate school, I became friends with an amazing woman, who encouraged me along the way and is one of my closest friends today. I created wonderful relationships with many in my cohort, and I found friends in my professors. Mentors, colleagues, and friends - they were all built during my time in graduate school, and while I wouldn't be where I am today without my degree, I wouldn't have the degree without all the people I met along the way.
4) What advice would you give to current History MA students at UofL?
Graduate school is hard. So my advice on a personal level is to find someone (or many people) you can vent to, discuss your research with, and relax with. Taking care of yourself is essential during this time, and it is so important to have a support system that you can lean on. And on a more career-focused level, I advise everyone to take as many internships as they possibly can. Sometimes it's not possible, but if you are able to do more than a single internship, you will not only be able to finish your degree with greater focus, but you can be certain that what you're doing is worth your time. And through internships, you can understand what you do and don't like, and that experience is so crucial when you are job searching after you graduate. And finally, don't underestimate how hard it will be to find a job. Though I was hired within a few months of graduating, there were many rejections along the way. Seriously consider whether you're open to related career paths within the field, and whether you are willing to move for work. If you are able to open up your options, your job search will be much easier. Don't be afraid to ask for help with your resume, CV, and cover letter, and don't give up.
Danny Michael (MA 2017)
1) Please give us a brief life/career update: what have you been up to since graduation?
I am at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming. I am the Assistant Curator of the Cody Firearms Museum at the Center. I have also gotten married since I graduated and have helped found the Association for Firearms History and Museums that brings together public arms and armor collections from around the US and Internationally to brainstorm the role of public arms collections in museum settings.
2) What aspects of your training in History at UofL have you found to be the most valuable as you work to achieve your life goals?
Good research and writing skills, I got a lot of red ink from Dr. Krebs, Dr. Mackey and others while I was at U of L, good museum writing is a key skill, and it goes along with being able to research for exhibits. My internship while I was there was also hugely helpful, being required to go out and jump into the museum world and being fortunate to get paired with an excellent museum professional taught me so much practical museum how to. (fellow U of L MA Zac Distel, he is at SAR now, if you want someone to teach students about history museums, see if he is available to host an intern)
And social media training, if you want to get into a museum and have an extra marketable skill, that’s a no brainer to have on the list and surprisingly few people have it. Even having a digital history course in the catalog was a help.
3) What’s your most memorable moment or experience from your time at UofL?
All the way back to the start, being able to have an honest conversation with Dr. Krebs about the program and what an Public History MA could do for me. It was one of the things that set me down this path and one of the things that helped me choose the graduate program at U of L.
4) What advice would you give to current History MA students at UofL?
Be willing to move for the job you want, I wasn’t looking to go all the way to Wyoming but an awesome job was out here. Don’t be too afraid to become specialized within history museums, believe it or not there are lots of “arms and armor” museums and very few people with related experience. If you can find your niche you can become part of a handful of people on the short list when jobs open up.
Anna Cecile Pepper (BA 2018)
1) Please give us a brief life/career update: what have you been up to since graduation?
After I graduated from the University of Louisville in 2018, I started law school at the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Law. I have loved my experience at UVA. The quality of the faculty, community among law students, and beautiful setting in Charlottesville, VA, create a rewarding, challenging, and engaging environment. At UVA, I am the Notes Development Editor for the Virginia Law Review and am also involved in student organizations like Virginia Law Women. This upcoming summer, I will be a summer associate in the D.C. office of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. After law school, I will return to the Kentucky area to clerk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit before I pursue a career in civil litigation.
2) What aspects of your training in History at UofL have you found to be the most valuable as you work to achieve your life goals?
My training from the UofL History Department proved invaluable to my work on the editorial board of the Virginia Law Review. As an editorial board member, I worked to substantiate the sources of the scholarly pieces the law review published. This often involved using historical databases, dealing with old books and documents, and even accessing archives. My experience as history major at UofL prepared me to take on these challenges. A history degree also provided helpful context and background in all of my law school courses. A course taught by Dr. Krebs, The American Revolution, particularly proved useful in my constitutional law class.
3) What’s your most memorable moment or experience from your time at UofL?
My most memorable experience at UofL was my time in the McConnell Scholars program. The McConnell program gifted me with lifelong friendships, cherished memories of academic and real-world adventures, and professional training.
4) What advice would you give to current History students at UofL?
My advice would be to take useful courses and pursue a history degree with a plan and intended use in mind.