See where a Beloit Museum Studies minor can take you.
After Beloit, I returned to my home state of Minnesota where, in the fall of 2017, I served as an AmeriCorps Volunteer with Northern Bedrock Historic Preservation Corps. While working with Northern Bedrock, I helped repair and restore historic structures and cemeteries throughout north east Minnesota including Grand Portage National Monument. After completing my service term I moved to Arizona and worked for several months at the Arizona Science Center where I helped create and present educational activities to children of all ages. Since August of 2018 I’ve been working within the Angel De Cora Museum as Curator and NAGPRA Assistant for the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. The skills, knowledge, and practical experiences I gained from the Museum Studies program within Beloit have been critical in my early career and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to study and work within the Logan Museum.
After Beloit, I obtained a master’s degree in historical administration and interned at the North Dakota Heritage Center. While in North Dakota, I assisted with repatriation projects under NAGPRA and discovered a passion for repatriation and the profound impact it has on communities. I first learned about NAGPRA at Beloit College through the Museum Studies Program and work as a Museum Assistant. The information and skills I gained helped me become a more knowledgeable repatriation advocate. Doing this work inspired me to continue my education and I am now pursuing a Ph.D. in American Studies at Purdue University. My current research focuses on collective memory, community, and critical whiteness studies.
I’m currently an Anthropology Collections Assistant at the Field Museum in Chicago working on the renovation of the Field’s Native North American hall. At Beloit, I majored in Anthropology with a minor in Museum Studies. Through my coursework and time as a Museum Assistant in the Logan Museum of Anthropology, I learned the collections management skills that help me better serve the communities represented in museum collections. After graduating from Beloit, I earned a master’s degree in Anthropology, Museum, and Heritage Studies at the University of Denver. I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity as an undergraduate and graduate student to work with collections at the Milwaukee Public Museum, Old World Wisconsin, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver Botanic Gardens, History Colorado Center, and the Wisconsin Historical Society.
The Museum Studies program was actually what first attracted me to Beloit College and remains one of the most memorable and impactful aspects from my time at Beloit. The combination of hands-on experience working in the campus museums together with the knowledge that I gained in the classroom provided me with a unique foundation that enabled me to launch directly into a meaningful career in the arts upon graduation. Today, in my current role as Assistant Vice President, Museum, Private & Corporate Art Services at Sotheby’s auction house I continue to apply many aspects of this foundational education. I am privileged to work with a host of museums across the country and my past experience of working as a student in Beloit’s Wright Museum of Art has uniquely positioned me to understand the nuanced considerations that are specific to academic museums and galleries as I partner with such institutions on projects related to collection reviews, valuations, exhibition loans, acquisitions, or deaccessions.
My experience at Beloit was pivotal in preparing me to work with museum collections. The hands-on experience of learning, interning and working at the Logan and Wright Museums guided me in developing skills and abilities that I use daily as Registrar at the Milwaukee Public Museum. The program allows you to customize your education to best fit your career aspirations and gives you the freedom to focus on your unique interests. The faculty are phenomenal, and I consider many of them mentors to this day.
Exposure to the professionalism and best practices in collections management in the Logan Museum of Anthropology set me on the path for a career in museums and gave me the tools I needed to succeed. The intensive hands-on experiences crystallized my interest, challenged and grew my skill sets, and gave me the real-world experience that helped anchor me so that when I finished graduate school and entered the workforce, I had a well-rounded knowledge base in museum theory and practice. More than that, the close mentorship from Museum and Department faculty and staff fostered lasting relationships and created my core professional network which I rely heavily on today.
After Beloit, I earned a master’s degree in Museum Anthropology at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University. I later worked for the National Park Service’s Western Archaeological and Conservation Center in Tucson before moving across the country to New Jersey, where I joined the staff at the Princeton University Art Museum and am a Collections Information Specialist.
Stories
Amara Pugens’13 brings archives to life
Amara Pugens combined her love for space, history, and anthropology into a dream job as a digital archivist at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
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