Introduction

Hello everyone,

My name is Angelina Davern and I'm a senior in the museum studies program. I used to be in the Game Design and Development program but changed majors one year ago. I feel bad because I believe this introduction is going to repeat a lot of what I've already said in my classes, but I don't have a whole lot else to go off of.

I've lived in and around Buffalo, New York all my life. I had grown up going to museums both there and in Washington D.C. but had not seriously considered museums as a career until college. My main interests in the field are in history museums and archival work. As a result of working at the Wallace Library for most of college, I am also considering a career in library management and plan to pursue a graduate degree in Library and Information Studies.

Over the summer, I interned in the archives of the Burchfield Penney Arts Center. This was my first meaningful venture into museum work and it was a valuable experience. My main project was processing the recently donated collection of a  deceased Western New York artist who taught at SUNY Buffalo State. Collaborating with two fellow interns, I completed my first archival processing project and compiled a finding aid. I hope the finding aid will help facilitate research into the collection in the future. In addition to processing, I learned other skills associated with working in art museums, such as handling and installing artwork. I also started writing biographies for all of the artists that completed an artist in residency at Artpark. This project kept me engaged with local history and has led me to consider a career in staff writing. I may consider incorporating this work into my thesis.

I look forward to developing my thesis with my classmates over the semester! Below is a low quality image of a zebra at the Akagera National Park. This is from when I studied abroad in Rwanda last January.


-Angie