Leadership Experiences

Art in Odd Places

As the 2022 Art in Odd Places (AiOP) Volunteer Coordinator, I built relationships with local businesses along 14th street, where the festival is held annually. By engaging the community, I ensured that our artists had the necessary resources and support to realize their innovative projects centered around the theme STORY. In addition, I educated our team of volunteers on our mission, de-escalation and bystander intervention tactics, and how to provide support to artists of all abilities.
To learn more about the project, click here.

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

During winter 2021-2022, I was a Curatorial Fellow at the Guggenheim under Kyung An, Associate Curator of Asian Art. In this role, I gained firsthand experience conducting archival catalogue research, conceptualizing exhibition design, and working within The Museum System (TMS). By participating in this program, I was able to understand what it takes to become a curator and how institutions work to engage in critical scholarship.
In the Summer of 2021, I was invited to participate in the Guggenheim's Summer College Workshop. This experience allowed me to meet with artists, museum professionals, and institutional leadership to discover what it means to create, curate, and exhibit meaningful art. In addition, I was able to produce a podcast entitled Truth in Bluegrass, which explored Bluegrass music as an archive of Appalachian history and community builder. It was through this program that I realized my passion for curation and honed my abilities to conceptualize and realize a long term project. To explore the project, click here.

Heurich House Museum

As the Education Department Intern, I was able to better my archival research skills, as well as gain curatorial experience through social media projects. In addition, I worked with the museum's director to produce an updated document retention plan and create a succession plan, which provided hands on leadership experience in a small non-profit. In each project, the staff directing me allowed my voice to be heard and for me to guide myself to fill my own goals.
Linked HERE are my project memos for further information

The Creative Process

As an Associate Podcast Producer for The Creative Process, I was given creative freedom to speak my mind on the topics of each episode I produced. I also improved my skills of audio editing and mastered Descript, an editing software. This experience was unique and allowed me to connect with professionals in the museum field.
Below are the episodes I completed for the podcast.

Museum Studies Student Organization

As the Professional Chair of the Museum Studies Student Organization (MSSO), I coordinate projects and networking events with our current students and our strong network of alumni. In partnership with the Museum Studies Alumni Association (MSAA), I work to pair students with alumni in fields of their interest in our annual mentorship program. Beyond this major project, I also organize career panels to discuss entering the museum field and social events to ensure our alumni and students have opportunities to engage with each other.

Volunteer Girls State

Since 2018, I have served annually as a counselor for Tennessee's Volunteer Girls State. This program hosts 500+ rising seniors from across the state at Lipscomb University in Nashville to educate them on active citizenship and leadership. Each year I guide a city of 30+ delegates with my counselor team of 5 in education about city, county, and state government. Beyond education, this program empowers young women to recognize their voice, engage their communities, and realize lasting social and political change.
To explore the program further, click here.

About the Program

As a member of the SPA Leadership program, I was able to gain experience working on long-term projects, both as a team and individually, that included both intensive research and community projects. In my first year, I was a member of the Education and Empowerment team. Here we focused on experiential learning for elementary school students and how this is much more effective and engaging than traditional course curriculum. This project concluded with creating and implementing experiential curriculum in two DC public school classrooms. For my second year, I took those first year skills and created my own project centered around rural food deserts. After creating a research paper and grant proposal, I partnered with the DC area food bank to conduct an on campus and virtual food drive to support local families in need.
In my third and final year in the program, I participated in an internship at the Heurich House Museum to practice leadership in action, along with the capstone course. Though my internship was virtual, I gained vital skills in museum education and nonprofit leadership that put my theoretical knowledge in practice. For the capstone course, I was able to review leadership theory and see how each practice plays out in real world leadership. After three years in this program, I feel confident in my abilities to become a transformational, democratic style leader in the museum field for my career.

Reflecting on My Learning Process

Within the program, I was able to put names to the leadership practices I have observed throughout my life. Often, I had heard of only "good" and "bad" leadership, but did not know that there were theories and practices each leader had adopted. Throughout the courses, I grew to understand the history of leadership theory, beginning with the Great Man Theory and resulting today in Transformational and Transactional Leadership. The SPA Leadership Program was instrumental in building my foundation for leadership practice. By understanding the theory, learning about case studies, and conducting my own research projects, I was able to build up my skills. I now feel confident entering my masters program and later career field with the intention of rising to a leadership role.

My View of Leadership

From my time in the program, I now view leadership as a learned skill that is always improving. A strong leader is someone who inspires, thinks critically and creatively, and empowers their team to rise to their full potential. Before enrolling at American University, I assumed that the best leaders were simply ones who had the right connections. With an academic basis in leadership, I now know that any person can educate themselves on best practices, find what style matches their preferences, and work to become a strong leader.

Key Takeaway

After completing my Advanced Leadership Studies Certificate, my key takeaway is about my own leadership style. I know that I enjoy and thrive off of collaboration, which leads me to prefer transformational, democratic leadership. When leading a team, I appreciate hearing each voice and am able to see where each person's skillset can best serve our greater goal. I also tend to be future thinking, which allows me to inspire others and encourage growth, while allowing other team members to tackle specific details and smaller deadlines. Having an understanding of my own style of leadership allows me to aim for roles that serve me and has prepared me well for a museum career.