Category: Alumni Spotlight

This post is part of our Alumni Spotlight series. For this installment, we spoke with Danielle Sakowski (Class of 2020) about her path through Museology and where it has taken her since.   What originally drew you the Museology program?  Like a lot of museum people, I had some foundational experiences with museums early on where I would visit museums, often through school programs. I had this incredible sense of awe at humanity, and felt an inspiration to learn in…

I graduated with the UW Museology Class of 2015 and have been working for small museums ever since. I really stumbled into the world of small museums more than I sought it out deliberately, but through experience I’ve found that the environment of a smaller institution suits me personally and can be a great step in the career trajectory of an emerging professional. My first job out of grad school was at the Jefferson County Museum, a local history museum…

Earlier this quarter, students in the Museology Program’s Museums & Technology course had the opportunity to visit the Museum of Flight to get a firsthand look at the exciting work being done there with virtual and augmented reality.  The person taking the lead on that work is none other than program alumnus Peder Nelson (Class of 2012). We followed up with Peder about his work and how his experiences in the Museology Program have shaped his career. Peder’s combination of…

Josie Lee (Class of 2013) has her dream job. As Director of the new Ho-Chunk Nation Museum and Cultural Center (opening Summer 2019), Josie puts her Museology degree to use “doing work for the people that I love, utilizing culture, language, traditions, community, and environment all wrapped into one.” In fact, Josie’s desire to serve her community is what initially inspired her to pursue a degree in Museology. She says, “when I started out, I had an idea that I…

Amy Oates entered into the Museology Graduate Program knowing that she had a passion for art.  But it was her experiences in graduate school that opened her up to the possibilities of where this passion might take her. “I thought that I always wanted to work in an art museum,” she said, “but I began to question that, and even what I meant by ‘art’ and why I valued it.” Thanks to her museology classes, Amy began to unpack these…

Alumni Geoff Nunn (class of 2007) has been making an impact at the Museum of Flight, taking the lead on some of their recent exhibits about the history of space exploration. However, these accomplishments did not come easily, as Geoff struggled to make inroads into full-time museum work at the beginning of his career. But Geoff’s persistence and passion for his work have been paying off as he makes his mark in the museum and aerospace worlds. Geoff’s passion for…

Shin Yu Pai is an artist, poet, community builder, mother, professional, and so much more. She came to Seattle to study Sociocultural Anthropology with a background in various arts. While studying anthropology, she enrolled in museology classes because of her interest and experience working with museums and arts nonprofits, and quickly realized that her passions lay within the Museology program.       Shin Yu came to the Museology program because of the mentorship she could receive from the faculty. “I chose…

Andrea Arenas didn’t realize just how much she would get out of the Museology program before starting graduate school. After graduating from the University of Florida with a double major in Geology and Anthropology, she interned at the Florida Museum of Natural History in registration and collections management. From here, it clicked. She loved being behind the scenes, fell in love with museums, and realized that this was her passion. She applied to graduate programs and decided to attend the…

Renae decided to pursue a Museology degree at UW because she saw the value in its interdisciplinary nature. When she joined the program in 2009, she was drawn to the program’s interdisciplinary nature and its focus on how museums serve their communities. “It was very explicit in being focused on museums as institutions that play a role in their communities, and are there to serve people and communities. Those were things that were appealing to me and how I viewed…